NBA Finals | Celtics beat Warriors in Game 3 to take 2-1 lead

Jaylen Brown scored 27 points, Jayson Tatum added 26 and the Boston Celtics beat back another third-quarter onslaught by the Golden State Warriors in a 116-100 victory that gave them a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals

Throughout the postseason, the Boston Celtics had played their best basketball away from home. Not anymore.

Jaylen Brown scored 27 points, Jayson Tatum added 26 and the Celtics rode the energy of a raucous TD Garden crowd to beat back another third-quarter onslaught by Golden State in a 116-100 victory Wednesday night that gave them a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

Marcus Smart added 24 points and helped fuel a defensive effort that held the Warriors to 11 points in the fourth quarter — third-fewest in a finals game in the shot clock era.

“Game 2, they brought the heat to us,” Smart said. "For us, that left a bad taste in our mouth because what we hang our hat on is effort on the defensive end and being a physical team. It definitely woke us up a little bit.”

Tatum said the fact the Celtics didn’t hang their heads after the Warriors’ third-quarter flourish is something they didn't always do in the regular season.

“I think that’s when we are at our best when we respond to tough situations. We respond to teams going on runs and things like that,” he said. “I think we did that several times tonight.”

Boston improved to 6-4 at home, compared to 8-3 on the road this postseason. The Celtics haven't lost two straight games since the end of March.