(REUTERS) - Jayson Tatum scored a play-off career-high 50 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 125-119 victory over the visiting Brooklyn Nets in Game 3 of their National Basketball Association Eastern Conference first-round series on Friday (May 28) night.
The Nets lead the series 2-1 and Game 4 is on Sunday night, when a full-capacity crowd will be allowed in Boston.
Tatum produced Boston's sixth 50-point post-season game and the first since Isaiah Thomas totalled 53 in Game 2 of the 2017 Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Washington Wizards.
After shooting a combined 9 of 32 in the first two games and getting poked in the eye by Kevin Durant in Game 2, Tatum delivered a dazzling 16-for-30 performance from the field. He made five three-pointers, hit 13 of 15 free throws and dished out seven assists.
James Harden led Brooklyn with 41 points as he shot 11 of 18 and hit seven three-pointers, tying the franchise post-season record for treys.
Durant added 39 but Kyrie Irving struggled in his first appearance in front of Boston fans since leaving the Celtics in 2019. He heard boos all night and profane chants at times while being held to 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting.
Tatum reached 50 points on a crafty sequence after the Nets got within 120-115 on two free throws by Irving with 58.7 seconds left. With 41.8 seconds left, Tatum executed a crossover move on Durant for a 19-footer that made it 122-115.
Durant's three made it 123-119 with 22 seconds left but a dunk by Grant Williams with 13 seconds remaining finished it off.
Marcus Smart added 23 and converted the tiebreaking four-point play with 5:11 remaining in the third. Tristan Thompson totalled 19 points and 13 rebounds while Evan Fournier chipped in 17 points as Boston overcame an early 15-point deficit and shot 50.6 per cent.
The Nets sped out to a 19-4 lead but Boston stormed back and outscored Brooklyn 29-13 over the final 8:36 of the quarter and took a 33-32 lead on Smart's three-pointer with 12.8 seconds left. Boston expanded its lead to 59-49 on a layup by Tatum with 2:27 remaining and held a 61-57 advantage by half-time.
Tatum scored 19 points in the third, including Boston's final nine points of the quarter, when the Celtics turned a 75-all tie into a 96-84 lead going into the fourth.
Meanwhile, Trae Young collected 21 points and 14 assists to lift hosts Atlanta to a 105-94 win over New York in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 15 points and John Collins added 14 for the Hawks, who benefited from a late 22-5 surge to end the second quarter to seize a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta.
In another game, Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points and visiting Los Angeles rallied from a big early deficit to defeat Dallas 118-108 in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round play-off series. The Mavericks lead the best-of-seven series 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Sunday in Dallas.
Paul George scored 29 points, Reggie Jackson finished with 16 points and Marcus Morris Sr made three three-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 15 for the Clippers, who trailed by 19 points in the first quarter.
