Jayson Tatum, Celtics Beat Tyrese Maxey, 76ers in Game 3 as NBA Fans React to Bounce Back Win

Jayson Tatum lifted the Boston Celtics to a 108-100 road win over Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday in their first-round NBA Playoff series, giving Boston a 2-1 series lead.

Tatum, who played just 16 regular-season games after returning from an Achilles injury suffered during last year's playoffs, finished with 25 points, four rebounds and seven assists on 53 percent shooting, including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc including a game-sealing three pointer. 

Jaylen Brown added 25 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks after scoring 11 in the first half.

Boston secured the bounce-back win with Philadelphia still without Joel Embiid, who has missed the entire series after undergoing an emergency appendectomy two weeks ago.

Maxey led the 76ers with a game-high 31 points and six assists, while Paul George added 18 points, five assists and two steals.

In a low-scoring first half, the Celtics took a 54-47 lead over the 76ers behind 11 points from Brown and eight from Tatum. Kelly Oubre Jr. led Philadelphia with 11 points, while George added eight and Maxey had nine.

Maxey capped a 12-0 run midway through the third quarter to give the 76ers their first lead since the opening period, but Boston responded to take a 79-74 advantage into the fourth.

George and Andre Drummond delivered a pair of highlight assist-slams late, but Tatum kept the Celtics in control, surpassing 3,000 career playoff points. 

An offensive rebound led to a dagger three from Tatum shortly after Payton Pritchard knocked one down, sealing the Game 3 win for Boston.

The winner of the Celtics-76ers series will advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals to face the winner of the No. 3 New York Knicks vs. No. 6 Atlanta Hawks matchup, with Atlanta holding a 2-1 series lead.

Game 4 between Boston and Philadelphia is set for Sunday, with the series remaining in Philadelphia.