Celtics hit back with Game 3 victory

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Getting big leads has been relatively easy for the Celtics in these Eastern Conference finals.

This time, they also found a way to finish the job.

And just like that, the East title series got a whole lot closer.

Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum added 25 and the Celtics got right back into the East finals with a 117-106 victory over the Heat in Game 3 on Saturday night. Kemba Walker added 21 to help Boston pull to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

“There’s some great guys in that locker room,” Brown said. “A lot of emotion, a lot of passion, but we’re a family and we’re here for each other at the end of the day. We exemplified that when we came out together ... we kept our will high and we persevered to win this game.”

Marcus Smart scored 20 points for Boston, going 9-for-9 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. The Celtics — who also got 14 rebounds and eight assists from Tatum — outscored Miami 60-36 inside the paint, led by as many as 20 and never trailed.

The Celtics, who were angry in their postgame locker room after Game 2, were obviously far happier Saturday after holding Miami to 39 percent shooting.

“We have great competitive spirit and we showed it tonight,” Walker said.

Bam Adebayo had 27 points and 16 rebounds for the Heat, who fell for just the second time in 12 games in these playoffs. Tyler Herro scored 22 points, Jimmy Butler had 17 and Duncan Robinson 13.

The Heat rallied from 14 points down to win Game 1 in overtime, 17 points down to win Game 2, but never caught up Saturday — though they put together a late run to get within five points in the final minute to make matters interesting.