PHILADELPHIA — Jayson Tatum continued to shine in his return from injury with 25 points, and Jaylen Brown also scored 25 to help the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 108-100, on Friday night and take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round series.
Game 4 is Sunday in Philadelphia.
Tatum was 5 of 9 on 3-pointers in just his 19th game this season following surgery last May to repair his Achilles tendon. Brown scored eight straight points late in the fourth for a 96-92 lead that put some distance between them and a Sixers team brimming with confidence following a surprise Game 2 win in Boston.
“We definitely wanted to come back and respond after dropping one on our home floor,” Brown said. “We can’t lose two games in a row in the playoffs. It’s tough. So this was a big win for us.”
Tatum and Brown did their part in the fourth, scoring 19 of the Celtics’ 29 points.
Tatum buried a 3 for a 100-96 lead and Payton Pritchard hit a step-back 3 to make it 103-98. Tatum, still looking to regain his top form after not playing for nearly a year, might just be there and hit the final 3-point dagger for the 106-100 lead that even sent Allen Iverson headed toward the exit.
Pritchard scored 15 points, and the Celtics shot 44% from the floor.
Philadelphia played again without center Joel Embiid as he continues to ease his way back into practice following an appendectomy on April 9.
Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points, and Paul George added 18.
“We were in a position to win this game,” Maxey said. “Come in Sunday, got to get one. Got to protect home court and even the series.”