Keys to the Game: Celtics 104, Heat 84

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Key Moment

Boston dominated Game 3 from start to finish, all while delivering a message to the Heat that their shocking Game 2 victory had no chance of being repeated Saturday night.

The Celtics scored the first points of the night off a 3-pointer from Kristaps Porzingis and never looked back from there. They eventually pulled ahead by as many as 29 points, all while never trailing for a single second.

Bam Adebayo did answer Porzingis' 3-pointer with a conventional three-point play of his own to knot things up at 3-3. However, the Celtics were off and running from there.

Boston scored the game's next nine points to pull ahead 12-3 and to take early control of the game. All nine of those points were scored by the dynamic duo of Cookies & Cream.

Cream, AKA Porzingis, jumpstarted the run with five straight points, the first two coming off an alley-oop slam from Jrue Holiday, and the next three arriving from beyond the arc off a dish from Jayson Tatum. Cookies, AKA Jaylen Brown, then got into the mix with a driving layup and a tip-in off a missed 3-pointer from Derrick White.

While Porzingis and Brown were scoring nine straight, Boston's defense was putting the clamps down on Miami's offense at the other end of the floor. The Celtics forced Miami into nine consecutive misses and a turnover following Adebayo's early bucket.

The game might as well have ended there, with the Celtics leading 12-3 at the 6:20 mark. All Boston did was pull away from there before coasting into the winner's circle to take a 2-1 series lead.

Key Player

The Jays tied each other for Game 3's top scoring mark, so how do we break the tie? On this night, it's by efficiency and defensive numbers, so Jaylen Brown gets the nod.

Brown tied Jayson Tatum for the game's top scoring mark with 22 points. He scored those points on 11-for-20 shooting from the field, good for a 55 percent conversion rate. That field goal percentage was the highest in the game among the seven players who attempted at least 10 shots. Brown also added in three assists at the offensive end, while committing just one turnover.

The star wing put in work at the defensive end, too. He grabbed six defensive boards and eight rebounds overall to finish second on the team in that category, trailing only Tatum's 11 total rebounds. Brown led the game in steals with two and tied Miami's team total with that number. He also was one of four Celtics to block a shot during the game, as he swatted away one shot.

Box Score Nuggets

• The teams combined to make just 20 3-pointers. This is after Boston made 22 during Game 1, and after Miami made 23 during Game 2.
• Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum tied for the game high in scoring with 22 points apiece.
• Bam Adebayo led Miami with 20 points.
• Boston held Miami to just 41.6 percent shooting from the field.
• The Celtics committed just five total turnovers.
• Tatum led the game outright in both rebounds (11) and assists (six), and he tied Brown for the top scoring mark with 22 points.
• Brown's two steals tied Miami's team total.
• Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis each blocked two shots.
• Porzingis scored 18 points on just nine shots.
• Derrick White added in 16 points.

Quote of the Night

"We had two days off, so any days off after a loss in the Playoffs is tough. So we were just ready to come out here and play. We played right poise on both ends of the floor, and we gotta repeat it on Monday."

- Jayson Tatum on bouncing back from Game 2