BOSTON (AP) — Still indignant over a blowout loss in Miami that price them home-court benefit within the Eastern Conference finals, the Heat jumped to a 26-point first-half lead over the Boston Celtics in Game 3.
Then Bam Adebayo made certain it was sufficient – simply barely – to offer Miami a 2-1 lead within the best-of-seven sequence.
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The Heat middle scored 31 factors with 10 rebounds, filling a void left by injured All-Star Jimmy Butler and main Miami to a 109-103 victory Saturday evening. Adebayo additionally had six assists and 4 of the Heat’s franchise postseason document 19 steals.
“He did his version of what Jimmy does: ‘Do what’s necessary for the game,’” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra mentioned. “Tonight we needed the scoring and we needed that offensive punch early on.
“Then, when Jimmy was out in the second half, he just stabilized us,” Spoelstra added. “It got a little gnarly out there and when it did, we were able to get the ball to Bam and just get something coherent.”
The Celtics by no means led, however they minimize a 46-20 deficit to at least one level, 93-92, with 2:40 to play on a 3-pointer from Jaylen Brown, who completed with 40 factors. Max Strus answered with a 3 after which Adebayo bounced off defender Al Horford and made a basket on the shot clock buzzer to offer Miami a six-point cushion.
The Celtics by no means got here any nearer.
Game 4 is Monday evening in Boston.
“In the previous game, as everybody noticed, they beat us like we stole something,” Adebayo mentioned. “That should wake everybody up. Getting beat at home like that, that says it all.”
In a bruising recreation that noticed Butler and Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart depart with accidents — although each Celtics returned — Kyle Lowry got here again from a four-game absence and scored 11 with six assists for the Heat. P.J. Tucker — like Lowry, a game-time choice — scored 17 for Miami.
Horford scored 20 factors with 14 rebounds, and Smart scored 16. Tatum had 10 factors on 3-for-14 taking pictures; he additionally had six turnovers, and Brown dedicated seven of Boston’s 2022 playoff-high 24 turnovers.
“Six turnovers, and no field goals in the second half – that is unacceptable,” Tatum mentioned. “Honestly, I’ve got to play better. I feel like I left the guys hanging tonight. That’s on me.”
After dropping Game 2 at residence by 25 factors, the Heat led 62-37 with beneath three minutes left within the second quarter. Then Boston scored the final 10 factors of the half to claw its manner again into the sport.
Things received worse for Miami when it introduced at halftime that Butler, who scored 41 within the sequence opener, wouldn’t return with proper knee irritation.
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Miami nonetheless led by 15, 87-72, after three, and made it a 17-point recreation on Adebayo’s basket to start out the fourth. But the Celtics ran off the subsequent 9 factors to get inside single digits for the primary time for the reason that first three minutes of the sport. Trailing 93-80, the Celtics scored 12 straight factors – 10 by Brown – to make it a one-point recreation with 2:40 left.
Miami scored the subsequent seven factors.
“We didn’t think that it was all of a sudden going to be an easy series and they were going to roll over,” Boston coach Ime Udoka mentioned. “We bounced back from Game 1 to Game 2, and they were going to do the same that and we had to match that and came out flat for whatever reason.”
IN AND OUT
Boston opened the second with a basket to make it a 13-point recreation, however the constructing went silent when Smart, the Defensive Player of the Year, went down in a collision with Lowry whereas going for a free ball and wanted to be helped to the locker room.
Smart returned simply 5 minutes later, drawing an enormous cheer when the scoreboard confirmed him strolling down the tunnel again towards the court docket. He checked again in with seven minutes left within the third and hit a 3-pointer that made it a 10-point recreation, 72-62, and compelled the Heat to name timeout.
The state of affairs was repeated when Tatum went down in apparent ache with 5 minutes left within the fourth. He went straight to the locker room, clutching his proper aspect, but in addition returned to the cheers of the group.
“My neck got caught in a weird position,” Tatum mentioned. “Obviously, I went down and felt some pain and discomfort in my neck and down my arm. I went to the back, got it checked on, and started to gain some feeling back and got it checked by the doctors and ran some tests and decided to give it a go.”
Lowry missed eight of the Heat’s earlier 10 video games with a proper hamstring pressure, final taking part in in Game 4 of Miami’s second-round sequence with Philadelphia. Tucker had a sore left knee however was additionally within the beginning lineup.
“I do not have any updates on anybody,” Spoelstra mentioned. “We’re just going to go back to our cave and just regroup and maybe I’ll have some information for you tomorrow.”
The Celtics performed with out middle Robert Williams III, who missed three video games within the second spherical in opposition to Milwaukee with soreness and a bone bruise in his surgically repaired left knee. Daniel Theis began in his place. Derrick White returned after lacking Game 2 to be on the start of his first little one.
TIP-INS
The Heat compelled 24 turnovers in all to result in 33 Miami factors. The Heat additionally had 9 turnovers that led to 9 Celtics factors. … Miami’s bench outscored Boston’s 26-16. … The Heat shot 64% within the first quarter, however completed at 46.7%. … Penn State coach and former Celtics assistant Micah Shrewsberry and Providence College coach Ed Cooley had been each in attendance.
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