Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum had 25 with 14 rebounds and Boston Celtics recovered from back-to-back losses to beat Miami Heat 117-106 in Game Three of the NBA Eastern Conference finals.
Kemba Walker added 21 points and Marcus Smart 20, as the Celtics avoided falling behind 3-0 in the best-of-seven series.
Boston shot 48.2 percent (41 of 85) as a team, outscoring Miami 60-36 in the paint.
Centre Bam Adebayo had 27 points and 16 rebounds, and Tyler Herro scored 22 to lead six players in double figures for the Heat, who lost for just the second time in the 12 playoff games.
"We didn't play hard enough," star Jimmy Butler said. "We weren't playing basketball the way that we have been to win the games that we have been winning."
After falling behind 2-0 in the series, Celtics players reportedly aired their frustrations in a raucous locker room scene. The team responded, boosted further by the return of Gordon Hayward (six points in 31 minutes) from an ankle injury that sidelined him since August 17.
"I didn't expect to play him that much," says Celtics coach Brad Stevens. "I thought he looked pretty good.
"He asked to come out a couple times - the wind caught up to him a couple times - but I thought he did what he's done all year."
Hayward said: "I'm extremely tired right now, my ankle is pretty sore, but I'm proud of the way we fought and proud of us getting the win."
Boston never trailed, carrying a 13-point advantage into the second half for the second straight game. Unlike in Game Two, when they were outscored 37-17 in the third quarter, the Celtics maintained control and entered the fourth up 89-74.
"They came out with great force in this game and you do have to credit them for that," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says.
Reuters
