3-0 as the Celtics with the "play with their food" game, 109-103.
I found the overall effort from the Celtics to be disappointing. Every time they went on a little run, they slacked up and let the Nets back into it.
Tatum led the way with an oddly quiet 39 points. He shot only 13 of 29, including only 4 of 13 from three, but did his 8 of 10 FTs. He added 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 steals, but on the downside also had 6 turnovers.
There were a few plays in this one where Brown showed how he is behind Tatum. Brown had a good game: 23 points on 9 of 16, plus 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and just 3 TOs. There were a couple of plays - one early, one late - where Brown made bad off ball defensive decisons and gave up key baskets as a eresult. Then late in the 4th, Smart ran back-to-back the same play, first for Brown, then for Tatum. Both were in position to seal their defender and then cut to the basket for an easy layup. Brown sttod there and watched Smart's - perfect - pass sail harmlessly out of bounds, Tatum made the cut and scored.
Horford played only 28 minutes, which is great after his workload in games 1 and 2. Attempted only 2 shots, hitting one - a key late three.
Theis was productive in 17 minutes (9 points, 6 rebounds). He has a nice shot from in close and Brooklyn had no plan for guarding him. Rob should add that shot.
Grant was less offensively productive (7 points, 5 rebounds in 32 minutes) but he also played a key defensive role in this series.
Rob was mostly quiet. Tatum got him one lob, and he also had 2 rebounds, an assist, and a block in 15 minutes. He had some moments of looking defensively out of sync but also some strong defensive mintes. Had a great block on Durant.
Pritchard poured in 10 quick points in the first half. A pair of threes, a pair of nice 2s.
White was mostly quiet but chipped in 6 rebounds in 14 minutes. I don't think White will necessarily have such a small role going forward, but Brooklyn isn;t a great matchup for him vs other bench guys.
KD attempted 11 shots from the field. 11. And he only got to the line twice. Kyrie shot 6 of 17. Bruce Brown, largely ignored by the Celtics, had a nice game with 26 points. Goran Dragic turned back into a pumpkin. Patty Mills had 12 points on a couple of late threes when the game was almost but not quite out of hand. The fossilized remains of Blake Griffin somehow managed to score 8 points in 8 minutes, but he was still a -4. The Celtics essentially did not cover Blake, allowing him to hit 2 of 3 open threes.
All in all, stick a fork in this Brooklyn team, they are done.
I found the overall effort from the Celtics to be disappointing. Every time they went on a little run, they slacked up and let the Nets back into it.
Tatum led the way with an oddly quiet 39 points. He shot only 13 of 29, including only 4 of 13 from three, but did his 8 of 10 FTs. He added 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 steals, but on the downside also had 6 turnovers.
There were a few plays in this one where Brown showed how he is behind Tatum. Brown had a good game: 23 points on 9 of 16, plus 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and just 3 TOs. There were a couple of plays - one early, one late - where Brown made bad off ball defensive decisons and gave up key baskets as a eresult. Then late in the 4th, Smart ran back-to-back the same play, first for Brown, then for Tatum. Both were in position to seal their defender and then cut to the basket for an easy layup. Brown sttod there and watched Smart's - perfect - pass sail harmlessly out of bounds, Tatum made the cut and scored.
Horford played only 28 minutes, which is great after his workload in games 1 and 2. Attempted only 2 shots, hitting one - a key late three.
Theis was productive in 17 minutes (9 points, 6 rebounds). He has a nice shot from in close and Brooklyn had no plan for guarding him. Rob should add that shot.
Grant was less offensively productive (7 points, 5 rebounds in 32 minutes) but he also played a key defensive role in this series.
Rob was mostly quiet. Tatum got him one lob, and he also had 2 rebounds, an assist, and a block in 15 minutes. He had some moments of looking defensively out of sync but also some strong defensive mintes. Had a great block on Durant.
Pritchard poured in 10 quick points in the first half. A pair of threes, a pair of nice 2s.
White was mostly quiet but chipped in 6 rebounds in 14 minutes. I don't think White will necessarily have such a small role going forward, but Brooklyn isn;t a great matchup for him vs other bench guys.
KD attempted 11 shots from the field. 11. And he only got to the line twice. Kyrie shot 6 of 17. Bruce Brown, largely ignored by the Celtics, had a nice game with 26 points. Goran Dragic turned back into a pumpkin. Patty Mills had 12 points on a couple of late threes when the game was almost but not quite out of hand. The fossilized remains of Blake Griffin somehow managed to score 8 points in 8 minutes, but he was still a -4. The Celtics essentially did not cover Blake, allowing him to hit 2 of 3 open threes.
All in all, stick a fork in this Brooklyn team, they are done.
