The Celtics nearly frittered away a 21-point fourth-quarter lead on Wednesday, but held on. Nobody in Boston will mind given the final result: A 106-99 victory and a 3-0 series lead over the Mavericks in the Finals.
Here are the takeaways.
1. Jaylen Brown was terrific, and he established himself as a clear frontrunner for NBA Finals MVP. He flirted with a triple-double, scoring 30 points to go with eight rebounds and assists, and he was the Celtics’ best player during a third-quarter flurry that pushed their advantage to 15 with Jayson Tatum on the bench.