Los Angeles – Jayson Tatum busted out of a mini-slump, exploding for 50 points Friday as the Boston Celtics clawed their way back into their Eastern Conference first-round series with a 125-119 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Tatum, who had just 31 points on nine-of-32 shooting in the first two games of the series, shot a blistering 16-of-30 from the floor and drained five threes as the Celtics cut the Nets series lead to 2-1.
Tatum also scored 50 points in a win over Washington in a play-in game making it the second time this month he has put the team on his back for a much needed post-season win.
“I just tried to be better,” said Tatum. “I had a tough two games so I tried to redeem myself and do anything I can to win.”
The Celtics’ win over the Nets played out in front of a crowd of 4,700 at the Boston Garden.
“It felt good to finally play a playoff game at TD Garden and it is great being back in front of our fans,” said Tatum.
Game four is Sunday in Boston.
Marcus Smart scored 22 points and Tristan Thompson finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds in the win.
James Harden delivered 41 points and 10 assists while Kevin Durant finished with 39 points and nine rebounds for the Nets, who were trying to take a 3-0 series lead for the first time since their first-round sweep of the New York Knicks in 2004.
Kyrie Irving was playing in front of Boston fans for the first time since leaving the Celtics under a cloud of controversy after the 2018-19 season.
He was showered with boos from Celtics faithful every time he touched the ball.
Hawks 105, Knicks 94
Trae Young collected 21 points and 14 assists to lift host Atlanta to a win over New York in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 15 points and John Collins added 14 for the Hawks, who seized a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Sunday in Atlanta.
Clippers 118, Mavericks 108
Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points and visiting Los Angeles rallied from a big early deficit to defeat Dallas in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series. The Mavericks lead the best-of-seven series 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Sunday in Dallas.