What initially looked like a game from Heat on Saturday turned into a pot for Miami, with his best player removed.
But when the game ended, Heath came out with a tough 109-103 victory over the Boston Celtics to secure a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. They did it late without Jimmy Butler, who missed the entire second half with a sore knee. After collecting 16 points in games 1 and 2, Bam Adebayo led the Heat to victory with his best game in the series.
Bam Adebayo responds after difficulties in Games 1 and 2. (David Butler II / Reuters)
Another fuss in the conference finals? Not exactly
The Heat dominated for most of the first half on the road to a 46-20 lead in the second quarter, sparking a chorus of boos from the TD Garden crowd. While Miami lit up from a 3-point range, Boston struggled with revs on its home court. But the Celtics banded together to put pressure on Heath before the break with a 10-0 series to finish the second quarter and reduce their deficit to 62-47. Jason Tatum’s three-pointer to close the half gave them hope.
Surprising scratch from the second half for Jimmy Butler
Things got worse for Miami after half time, when Heath announced at the beginning of the third quarter that Butler would not return. He was surprisingly scratched after playing most of the first half with no visible signs of injury.
The Celtics, meanwhile, gained momentum in the fourth quarter as they survived their own fears of injuries to Marcus Smart and Tatum. With 2:40 left, they reduced the lead in the Heat to 93-92 with a triple by Jaylen Brown. But Miami left the defense late, as the turnovers that plagued the Celtics throughout the game sealed their fate when Heath retired to win. Kyle Lowry’s theft in the back of Boston with 48 seconds left created a Max Strus pass to give the Heat a 103-94 lead and put the game in bed.
To sweeten the victory, Heath seems to have ended the match with good news about Butler’s injury. Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes said in the fourth quarter that the Heat did not expect Butler’s sore knee to force him to miss Game 4 on Monday.
The story continues
The Celtics can take comfort in the fact that they left the game without serious injuries. Smart seems to have suffered a severe ankle sprain early in the third quarter, only to return minutes later and finish the match. Tatum fell to the floor and headed for the locker room at the end of the fourth quarter after appearing to have injured his shoulder in a collision. But like Smart, he returned to the court a few minutes later.
The reversals doom the Celtics as Tatum fights
Boston dug up their early deficit with poor ball security, turning the ball 11 times in the first half against Miami’s aggressive defense, which turned mistakes into easy buckets at the other end. Despite beating them, the Celtics did not improve in the second half, as they recorded a total of 23 frictions for the match. Look no further for Boston stars as culprits. Brown received seven gifts, while Tatum scored six.
Brown did his best to make up for the mistakes with a record 40 points and nine rebounds. But Tatum failed to find a rhythm against the Miami defense in an effort of 10 points and six rebounds while shooting 3 of 14 from the field.
Jason Tatum had a poor performance in Game 3. (Photo by Elsa / Getty Images)
Meanwhile, The Heat turned the ball around only eight times throughout the game. They cooled down deeply after scoring five of their first seven attempts for 3 points. But their effort 12 out of 32 (37.5%) of the depth was more than enough to maintain their advantage when combined with opportunistic defense. That, plus Adebayo’s big night.
Bam is doing a show
The Heat center almost doubled its score in the first two games, scoring 31 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals. He made his shots count in a 15-of-22 effort from the floor as he posted a high-plus-17 match in the plus / minus column. He highlighted the performance with a contested 17-foot jumper on the wing in the last two minutes of the match, which beat the clock for shots and extended Miami’s lead to 98-92.
Critics of Adebayo from Games 1 and 2 could not find any worries about Saturday’s efforts. Meanwhile, PJ Tucker scored 17 points, seven rebounds and three steals, while Strus added 16 points and four rebounds. Victor Oladipo tied Adebayo and Lowry off the bench with four stolen thefts.
After several blows in favor of each team, the Heat survived the late pressure on Saturday for the first contested victory in the series. The pressure is now shifting directly back to the Celtics, who will have to win Match 4 at home to avoid an elimination match on the road in Game 5.
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