You miss these Eastern Finals: with an eye on the fickle infirmary of both teams and with the constant feeling that the game is going to escape the fan in the blink of an eye. This Heat-Celtics series is exposed to hyperbole, to the gargantuan feast of one team at the expense of the other, draining games of emotion.
It happened again. Another game that got out of hand without us noticing, without almost noticing that it had started. This time it wasn’t even the fast track, it came to us more by the express way. Boston Celtics put an end to any hint of emotion at the first change, and in the first quarter they had already melted the meager machinery shown today by the rival team.
Of course, all the emotion that is missing in each game becomes equality and tension in the series, which is tied 2-2 despite the fact that the Miami Heat have only won 3 of the 16 quarters played to date.
Today there was no party. Overwhelming start: great local defense, massive visitor mistake and grotesque heads-up at the TD Garden until it ended in a game without a pulse due to the unequivocal superiority of the Celtics.
The game started with a 26-4, that’s how raw it was. Miami took almost 9 minutes to score its first basket in play and did it with a three-pointer Victor Oladipo after the Florida team missed their first 14 shots of the night. And that’s where it all ended. Boston left the first quarter winning 29-11 (with Miami going 3-for-20 shooting), took a 27-point lead in the second quarter to then go into halftime with a resounding 57-33, gained a 32-point lead in the third quarter and the blood did not reach the river because the game faded in the last quarter until it reached competitive irrelevance and ended 102-82.
with the local Marcus Smart and the visitor Tyler Herro low, the physical state of the Jimmy Butler, that given his performance and his way of moving on the court… we must deduce that he is far from advisable to lead a team to the Finals. He was seen as very limited, as was the case with Robert Williams III on the rival side. Timelord left us 19 minutes of splendid physical display to end up limping again. Worrying about the Boston center.
Another very different thing was Jayson Tatum. The limping shoulder of the leader of the Celtics was not an obstacle for him to perform at a high level until he led his team’s incontestable victory with 31 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, after going to free kicks 16 times and signing a +37 Celtics with him in action.
good game of Derrick White, who was another big man, as his spirited start pulled Boston in the first quarter to open up a gap on the scoreboard. He started for Smart, played 41 minutes and had 13 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. Of course, he was not exactly brilliant in the shot.
and then there was Al Horford. The ‘juvenile’ Dominican player continues to do his thing. He only shot 2 times in the entire game. Little did it matter. He had 5 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 assists in 33 minutes in which Boston went +33. Capital once again in defense and when channeling the offensive game.
Payton Pritchard scored 14 points and Boston overwhelmed despite the night to forget about Jaylen Brown in attack, finishing the escort with 5 of 20 in the field.
Boston only lost 9 balls after coming from ‘giving away’ 24 in the previous game, and their victory already implies a 5-0 win for the team in the playoff game after losing the previous one (a statistic that in the regular season was 10 -1), which clearly speaks volumes about the power of reaction of the squad he leads Udoka.
Miami only had Oladipo. What’s more, Oladipo scored more points, 23, than all Heat starters, 18! Those 18 points are the worst mark of a five-starter in the playoffs since the statistics of the games in the NBA are measured, distinguishing starters and reserves, something that began in the 1970-1971 academic year.
The team of Spoelstra It was a disaster whichever way you look at it. He scored 82 points making 33.3% of his shots, although at the end of the third quarter he did not even reach 30%, he failed on the rebound and presented an unusual imbalance between starters (18 points) and substitutes (64).
Oladipo finished with 23 points and 6 assists and also substitutes Duncan Robinson y Caleb Martin they scored 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Night to forget about the important players. Bam Adebayo had 9 points, Jimmy Butler had 6 on 3-for-14 shooting and Kyle Lowry finished 1 for 6 at launch, joining the folly party Max Strus y P.J. Tucker.
The Eastern Finals are 2-2. His development is strange. At least there is excitement in general terms, although we all hope to experience some really tight ending, beyond the approach experienced in the third game. Would be great. We would feel more closely that we are in a conference finals.