- Analysis
- My 10* Situational Stunner is on the Bos Celtics at 8:30 ET.
The Celtics never led in Game 3 and trailed by as many as 26 points early in the second quarter. "We didn't match (their physicality) from the start," Boston head coach Ime Udoka said. "We got into complaining and let it take us out of our game. It's disappointing to come out that flat in a conference finals game.' Still, the Celtics had a chance to post a comeback victory before the Heat held them off down the stretch. Miami led by 13 with 6:30 left before Boston responded with 12 consecutive points to cut the Heat's lead to 93-92 with 2:40 to play. However, the Heat held on to win 109-103.
Miami's Jimmy Butler sat out the second half of Saturday's game due to right knee inflammation. Butler had eight points in 20 minutes in Game 3, after averaging 35 points over the first two games. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said the training staff made the call on Butler. The Heat were led by center Bam Adebayo, who had been missing in action in the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals. He played one of the top games of his five-year career. Adebayo exploded for 31 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals on Saturday night, making 15 of 22 field-goal attempts. That effort came on the heels of him taking just 10 total shots over the first two games. Adebayo scored 10 points in Miami's Game 1 win and just six in its Game 2 loss. PF Tucker contributed 17 points and seven rebounds and guard Strus scored 16 points. PG Kyle Lowry returned from a hamstring injury and recorded 11 points, six assists and four steals.
Boston's Jaylen Brown set a personal playoff high with 40 points and also collected nine rebounds for the Celtics in Game 3. Al Horford added 20 & 14 and PG Smart had 16 points and seven assists. However, Boston's top player (Jaysom Tatum) had just 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting and committed SIX turnovers (Boston committed 24 TOs in the game). Tatum never found a groove during Game 3. "My neck got caught in a weird position," Tatum said. "Obviously I went down and felt some pain and discomfort in my neck and down my arm, and then went to the back. I 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." Tatum is listed as probable for Monday's game.
That said, it is the Heat facing a bigger injury dilemma heading into Game 4. Along with Butler's status (see above), Miami listed five other players as questionable: Tucker (knee), Strus (hamstring) and guards Tyler Herro (groin), Kyle Lowry (hamstring) and Gabe Vincent (hamstring). In particular, Herro has GREATLY underachieved this postseason, averaging 13.5 PPG compared to 20.7 PPG in winning 6th-man-of-the-year during the regular season. The Celtics closed the regular season winning 28 of their final 35 games, losing back-to-back games just ONCE. Here in the postseason, they have lost five times, bouncing back to win AND cover after each of their first four playoff defeats. The number is a tad 'high' but I expect a HUGE bounce-back from Tatum and no one knows for sure just which Miami players will be able to produce (or even suit up) in Game 4.
Good luck...Larry
