2023-05-24 02:11:00
SUMMARY
The Boston Celtics avoided the sweep once morest the Miami Heat by winning 116-99 on Tuesday night.
The task remains complex for Boston, as no team in NBA history has reversed a 0-3 playoff deficit. The Lakers, for example, failed the same endeavor Monday night once morest the Denver Nuggets.
Miami will try to recover on Thursday for its seventh appearance in the NBA Finals since 2006, but will have to do so in enemy territory at TD Garden. The Florida team won the championship on three occasions during this period (2006, 2012 and 2013).
Jayson Tatum’s awakening in the second half signaled that of the Celtics and he finished the game with 33 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists, leading the charge ahead of Jaylen Brown (17 pts), Derrick White (16 pts) and Grant Williams (14).
In the opposing clan, Jimmy Butler’s 29 points were not enough while Bam Adebayo was too discreet with only 10. Gabe Vincent provided 17, one more than Caleb Martin
The Celtics got off to a better start than their last outing, playing with more conviction, but mightn’t convert that into a clear lead, settling for a 12-12 tie in first stoppage time.
The Heat regained their full confidence, however, to take the lead late in the first quarter and lead 22-15 when Jimmy Butler stole the ball from Jayson Tatum, while Max Strus was able to escape and sink the dunk. Cody Zeller and Butler made both free throws, Caleb Martin sank a three-pointer to put the Heat up 29-23 following the first 12 minutes.
The Celtics were more effective going into the second quarter and Derrick White continued his good work on a faulty offensive rebound, followed by a two-point shot from Tatum that won their battle 1-on-1, then a excellent transition that led to a long basket from Grant Williams to turn things around and take the lead 37-34.
Tatum didn’t come out on top in the quarter, however, and Jaylen Brown didn’t play up either with only 8 and 7 points respectively, behind White’s 11. Marcus Smart, meanwhile, remained virtually non-existent being wiped off the scoresheet following 15 minutes of playing time. Despite everything, they remained within reach of victory by trailing only 56-50 at the end of the game. half time. Caleb Martin was the best of all with 14 points on the other side.
Tatum began to redeem himself following a disappointing first half by stringing together two three-pointers, inspiring the Celtics to come back. He and Brown were able to impose themselves more aggressively on offense as well as defensively by forcing turnovers. Smart meanwhile finally managed a three-point shot on his fifth attempt, a sign of the snowball effect that had their awakening to eventually lead 70-61. The Celtics secured their biggest lead of the game so far, by 11 points, before finishing the third quarter at 88-79, on the strength of Tatum’s 22 points.
The rest was totally up to the visitors, who extinguished the Heat by scoring 12 unanswered points early in the final quarter.
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