The Boston Celtics now need only one more win to claim the NBA title after they toppled the Dallas Mavericks 106-99 on Thursday in Game 3 of the final series.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics to victory with 31 points, while his teammate Jaylen Brown contributed with 30 points.
Kyrie Irving's 35-point contribution for the Mavs was not enough for victory.
"Not really trying to look too much into it," Tatum said and added: "The game of basketball is about runs. It's never going to go like you expected. If you want to be a champion, you have to be resilient in those situations, and we did that tonight."
Game 4 will be played on Saturday in Dallas.
The Celtics are looking for a record 18th NBA championship, and it was 2008 when they last won it.
The Mavericks were 2011 champions, which is their only NBA title.
