CELTICS COOL OFF HEAT

Starters Tatum, Brown, Walker and Smart all score at least 20 points

Getting big leads has been relatively easy for the Boston 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 Miami 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.

Celtics 117, Heat 106

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.

“We’re not the type of team where we can go through the motions and try and figure out everything in the first half, and then in the third or fourth we just try to turn it on,” Adebayo said. “It’s not like that. We are not that type of team. We’ve got to play with detail.”

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 make matters interesting.

They got within eight on a 3pointer by Robinson with 1:12 left, setting the tone for the Celtics to scramble at the end. Brown committed a flagrant foul nine seconds later, and Robinson made one of two free throws to cut Boston’s lead to 109-102.

Adebayo scored on the ensuing possession to get Miami within five and cap a 24-9 run, but the Heat got no closer.

Boston’s Gordon Hayward made his return after missing a month with a sprained right ankle, scoring six points in 31 minutes.

MARK J. TERRILL AP The Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, who finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists, dunks over the Heat’s Tyler Herro in the first half of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.