Celtics pound Warriors 116-100, take 2-1 lead in NBA Finals

BOSTON: 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 Wednesday night that gave them a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

Marcus Smart added 24 points and helped lead a defensive effort that held the Warriors to 11 points in the fourth quarter,

Stephen Curry led Golden State with 31 points and six 3-pointers. He had 15 points in a 33-25 third quarter by the Warriors but was hurt late in the fourth after Al Horford rolled into his leg on a loose ball. It was similar to a play during the regular season in which Smart dove into Curry’s legs while chasing a loose ball.

Klay Thompson broke out of a finals slump and finished with 25 points and five 3s. But the Warriors’ shooting couldn’t save them on a night the more athletic Celtics outmuscled them for a 47-31 rebounding advantage,

Game 4 is Friday in Boston.

The previous 39 times teams have split the first two games of the finals, the winner of Game 3 went on to win the series 82 percent of the time.

Feeding off the energy of a TD Garden crowd that jeered Draymond Green throughout his miserable night in the first NBA Finals game in Boston since 2010, the Celtics started fast and led by as many as 18 points in the first half.

Coming off a Game 2 loss in which Boston turned the ball over 19 times, the Celtics’ ball movement was much crisper in the half court, which led to open perimeter shots, favorable 1-on-1 matchups and driving lanes.

It left the Warriors scrambling at times, which contributed to three foul calls on Curry in the opening 24 minutes.

But as well as Boston played, it had their early lead erased in the third quarter by a Warriors