Jayson Tatum scored a playoff career-high 50 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 125-119 victory over the visiting Brooklyn Nets in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Friday night. The Nets lead the series 2-1 and Game 4 is tonight, when a full-capacity crowd will be allowed in Boston.
Tatum produced Boston’s sixth 50-point postseason game and first since Isaiah Thomas totaled 53 in Game 2 of the 2017 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Washington Wizards.
James Harden led Brooklyn with 41 points as he shot 11 of 18 and hit seven 3-pointers, tying the franchise postseason record for 3s.
Durant added 39 but Kyrie Irving struggled in his first appearance in front of Boston fans since leaving the Celtics in 2019. Irving heard boos all night and profane chants at times while being held to 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting.
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 benefited from a late 22-5 surge to end the second quarter to seize a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Sunday afternoon in Atlanta.
Clint Capela recorded 13 points and 12 rebounds and former Knick Danilo Gallinari sank all four of his 3-point attempts to finish with 12 points for the Hawks. Atlanta sank 16 of 27 shots from 3-point range for a blistering 59.3 percent.
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.
Paul George scored 29 points, Reggie Jackson finished with 16 points and Marcus Morris Sr. made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 15 for the Clippers, who trailed by 19 points in the first quarter. Leonard shot 13 of 17 from the floor and added eight rebounds.
Luka Doncic scored 44 points to lead Dallas, but missed six of 13 free throws, and Jalen Brunson and Maxi Kleber scored 14 each for the Mavericks.
—Field Level Media
