WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combined for 53 points and the Boston Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors in a 116-100 victory Wednesday night, giving them a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
The Celtics hit three of their first four shots and scored 10 straight points to jump out to a 10-2 lead. Meanwhile, they put enough pressure on the Warriors in the first quarter with the defense swarming all over the team.
The Warriors improved their shooting in the second quarter, but Boston maintained their double-digit advantage before Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry both knocked down threes to help reduce the deficit to seven points at 56-49.
But Boston responded as Al Horford’s steal set up a dunk for Brown, who finished the half with 22 points as the Celtics took a 68-56 half-time lead.
A four-point play by Curry cut the lead to four points before Grant Williams drained a 3-pointer to make it 93-86 in the third quarter. Thompson hit back again but the Warriors were outscored 23-11 in the fourth quarter and never got another chance to steal the win.
Marcus Smart added 24 points for Boston and made a defensive effort that held the Warriors to 11 points in the fourth quarter.