The Boston Celtics are currently up 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jayson Tatum has struggled offensively in the playoffs, but he found his rhythm in Game 3 in Cleveland. Tatum scored 33-points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and made six assists to lead Boston across the board.

The media has been all over Tatum during the playoffs- challenging him to perform at a high level and to be consistent shooting the ball on offense. He responded well in Game 3 and sent a message to the media during postgame:

“I respect your guys’ job, I respect the guys on TV. I don’t always agree with the things that they say. When they’re fair, and they take emotion out of it, whatever way they’re leaning towards and they’re fair, I respect it.”

Jaylen Brown continues to lead the way for the Celtics in the playoffs. He’s averaging 24.1 points per game on 55.6 percent shooting from the field. Although he’s struggling from behind the arc (34.9%), but he’s shooting 64.4 percent on his 2-point shots.

Jrue Holiday also refound his rhythm in Game 3, scoring 18-points on 7-of-10 shooting, along with eight rebounds and five assists. He only scored four-points and made three assists in Game 2.

Other notes and takeaways from the past week:

• Brad Stevens really wants to re-sign Derrick White, as he expressed during NBC Sports Boston’s pregame show ahead of Game 2. Nothing can happen until July 1.
• Al Horford has played 152 minutes over the last five-games. He’s done an admirable job of being the primary big man while Kristaps Porzingis is sidelined with an injury. Horford is living and dying by the 3-point shot, shooting 6-of-23 over the last five games.
• Kristaps Porzingis was back on the court this week for the first time since his right calf injury doing stationary shooting drills.
• Charles Lee agreed to a four-year deal to become the next head coach of the Charlotte Hornets. He will remain with the Celtics through this playoff as Boston’s top assistant. This is the second straight season a Celtics assistant coach lands a head coaching gig during the season (Damon Stoudamire, Georgia Tech).

Game 4 tips off on Monday at 7:00 PM from the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.

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Photo Credit: Brian Babineau, NBAE Getty Images