Young Boston Celtics step-up to take Game 3 against Miami Heat

Barely a couple of days after the Boston Celtics collapsed emotionally in the locker room after their heartbreaking Game 2 loss to the Miami Heat, they got their act together and won Game 3, 117-106 on Saturday night.

The Celtics did what any young team should do; they attacked the paint hard. They also moved a lot on both ends of the court. By the end of the third quarter, the Celtics had 50 points in the paint as opposed to the Heat's 22.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with an impressive 26 points on 11 for 17 shooting. He also contributed everywhere else on the floor, adding 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block on his stat sheet.

Jayson Tatum had 25 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists.

According to CBS Sports, the Celtics smothered the Heat defensively, resulting in only 33 out of 85 shooting for the Heat. Only the young Heat center Bam Adebayo put up a fight with 27 points, on 10-14 shooting, plus 16 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals.

Without Adebayo, the rest of the Heat only shot 23 out of 71 on the floor. That's only 32.3%.

The Celtics had a breakdown after losing Game 2. There were many emotional words exchanged among the players, mostly targeting Celtics guard Marcus Smart for his ill-advised three-point shots. While the details of what was said will remain a Celtics locker room secret, Celtics coach Brad Stevens did tell the media last Friday that he talked to his guys behind closed doors and settled the issue.

Whatever Brad Stevens told them obviously worked.

In Game 3, the Celtics played like a 90's team. They were aggressive on defense and they were aggressive in getting loose balls and rebounds. They were attacking the rim instead of relying on long-range triples which is a trademark of the modern game since Stephen Curry won an MVP by devastating opposing teams at long range.

Whether the Celtics can keep this level of play and win three more games out of the remaining four to advance to the NBA Finals remains to be seen. But it is refreshing for any basketball fan to finally watch a team hustling for the ball and slashing through the defence once again.