Coming up trumps in Boston

BOSTON • Jayson Tatum had scored in double figures in all but three National Basketball Association (NBA) games during the regular season, so when he had only nine points on Tuesday night, the Boston Celtics forward knew that he had to buck up.

On Friday, he busted out of his mini-slump, exploding for a massive 50 points as the Celtics clawed their way back into their Eastern Conference play-off first-round series with a 125-119 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Tatum, who had just 31 points on nine-of-32 shooting in the first two games of the series, shot 16 of 30 from the floor and drained five threes as Boston cut the Nets' lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

He also scored 50 points in a win over the Washington Wizards in a play-in game, making it the second time this month he has put the team on his back for a much needed post-season victory.

"I just tried to be better," said Tatum. "A tough shooting night the first game and I didn't get to play much the last game because I got poked in the eye. I had a tough two games so I tried to redeem myself and do anything I can to win."

The Celtics' win over the Nets was played in front of 4,700 spectators at the Boston Garden.

"It felt good to finally play a playoff game at TD Garden and it is great being back in front of our fans," added Tatum.

Game 4 is today in Boston.

Marcus Smart scored 22 points and Tristan Thompson finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds in Boston's win.

"He was just locked in mentally," Smart said of Tatum, who joined John Havlicek, Isaiah Thomas, Ray Allen, Sam Jones and Bob Cousy as the only Boston players with 50 points in a play-off game.

"We're going up against a juggernaut of a team. It's not going to be easy. You can't lay down, you can't take a step back. You have to be able to press forward and that's what we did tonight."

James Harden delivered 41 points and 10 assists while Kevin Durant finished with 39 points and nine rebounds for the Nets, who were trying to take a 3-0 series lead for the first time since their first-round sweep of the New York Knicks in 2004.

Kyrie Irving was playing in front of Boston fans for the first time since leaving the Celtics under a cloud of controversy after the 2018-19 season. He was showered with boos from the Celtic faithful every time he touched the ball.

The guard scored just two points in the first half to tie a career low in a play-off game. He finished with 16 points on six-of-17 shooting.

"I think they were a little desperate and became the aggressor after our hot start," Nets coach Steve Nash said of the 17-time NBA champions Celtics.

"They were the ones looking to drive the ball and they were the ones looking to step in with threes. They got themselves going, took the momentum, got the crowd going and started feeling confident for the first time in three games."

Also in the East, Trae Young scored 21 points as the Atlanta Hawks beat the New York Knicks 105-94 to grab a 2-1 lead.

In the West, Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from a first-half deficit to beat the Dallas Mavericks 118-108 and reduce the Mavericks' lead to 2-1.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE