Miami Heat falls to Boston Celtics in Game 3 of East finals, but still leads series 2-1
The Boston Celtics aren’t going to make this easy for the Miami Heat.
The Heat’s attempt to grab a 3-0 lead for the third consecutive series was unsuccessful. The Celtics earned a much-needed 117-106 win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex.
Miami, which is now 10-2 this postseason, still holds a 2-1 series lead. It marked the Heat’s first double-digit loss of the 2020 playoffs.
The Celtics led from start to finish, setting the tone in the first half with a 63-50 halftime lead.
After rallying from a double-digit deficit in five of its past six playoff wins, the Heat could not complete a comeback this time as the Celtics’ lead ballooned to as many as 20 points in the second half. Miami cut the deficit to five with 55.9 seconds to play, but it turned out to be too little, too late.
Jaylen Brown (26 points, seven rebounds and five assists), Jayson Tatum (25 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists) and Kemba Walker (21 points, six rebounds and two assists) combined to score 72 of the Celtics’ points in the victory.
Boston forward Gordon Hayward made his return after missing the previous 12 games because of a sprained right ankle he sustained in the postseason opener. Hayward finished Saturday’s win with six points, five rebounds and four assists.
Boston dominated around the basket, outscoring Miami 60-36 in the paint. It’s the most paint points the Heat has allowed this postseason.
Heat All-Star Jimmy Butler finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes. Meanwhile, guard Goran Dragic struggled with 11 points on 2-of-10 shooting.
Two bright spots for Miami were Bam Adebayo (27 points, 16 rebounds, three steals and two blocks) and Tyler Herro (22 points, three rebounds and four assists). Herro scored 16 of his points in the second quarter.
The Heat and Celtics now get three days off.
The NBA inserted a three-day gap between Games 3 and 4 of the East finals. Game 4 of the Heat-Celtics series is Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.
This story was originally published September 19, 2020 at 11:21 PM.
