Celtics vs Heat

2022 - 5 - 22

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The New York Times"

Boston Celtics Provide the Drama. Miami Heat Deliver the Win. (The New York Times)

A strange playoff series keeps getting weirder with injury scares and furious comebacks. It's difficult to tell who is best prepared to adapt.

So when he said that, I had all the confidence in the world to step up and make a shot.” He crashed to the floor, writhing in pain, and was helped off the floor and into the locker room. Lowry was a pest on defense, with heady play on offense and a calming influence, resembling the player he’d been when he won a championship in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors. He finished with 11 points, 6 assists and 4 steals. He immediately hit a corner 3-pointer to cut the Heat deficit to 10. A rescue plan for Miami came in the form of Strus, the undrafted third-year guard, who has taken minutes from the higher-profile guards Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro. He answered Brown’s jumper with a 3-pointer of his own, deflating the Celtics crowd. But it wasn’t just fast breaks: When Adebayo received the ball in the post, he would immediately pivot into the paint, rather than hold the ball and wait for the defense to respond. The first was in the third quarter of Game 1, when the Heat outscored the Celtics, 39-14. In the case of Adebayo, sometimes that meant receiving a pass in the half-court, then immediately sprinting up the court and going to the basket against the slower Al Horford. Miami continuously pounded the Celtics defense in the first half by pushing the ball. The other was in Saturday night’s opening frame, when the Heat jumped out to a 39-18 lead. The first star was Lowry, who has been absent for most of the playoffs because of a hamstring injury. But it was the return of two Heat stars that made possible Miami’s 109-103 win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Celtics vs. Heat score, takeaways: Bam Adebayo leads Miami to ... (CBSSports.com)

The Miami Heat stormed out to a 26-point lead over the Boston Celtics in Game 3 on Saturday night only to hold on for a 109-103 victory at TD Garden ...

In addition to the turnovers, the Celtics got another dud from Tatum, who finished with just 10 points to tie his lowest-scoring game of the postseason. The Heat were terrific to start this game, and deserve a lot of credit for how they started and then managed to hang on down the stretch without Jimmy Butler. That being said, the Celtics could have, and probably should have won this game. Kyle Lowry had not played since Game 4 of the Heat's second-round series with the Philadelphia 76ers due to a hamstring injury, and there was no clear timeline for when he might be back. He nearly matched his total from the first two games in the first quarter of this one, as he had 12 points to help the Heat build an early double-digit lead. By the final buzzer, Adebayo had 31 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals in by far his best performance of the entire postseason. In the first two games of this series, though, he was largely invisible, finishing with a total of 16 points, 13 rebounds and three assists. Late in the game, with Butler out of commission, he stepped up again. He was demanding the ball early and often, and hitting an array of mid-range jumpers and shots around the rim. In the end, Butler's absence during the final two quarters was not enough for Boston to pull off the comeback as Bam Adebayo finished the win with a team-high 31 points to go along with 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals. On the other end of the spectrum, Jaylen Brown was fantastic for Boston finishing the game with 40 points and nine rebounds. Smart and Tatum actually returned to the game, despite the fact that their injuries seemed more severe. The problem only got worse on Saturday, as Smart, Jayson Tatum and Jimmy Butler all made their way to the locker room at various points.

Dominant Bam Adebayo Shows He Is Heat's 'Heart and Soul' in ... (Sports Illustrated)

Despite an injury to Jimmy Butler, Miami took the series lead in the Eastern Conference finals thanks to a career night from its star center in Boston.

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.” It’s only one game in a back-and-forth battle of attrition, but this version of Adebayo incinerates whatever ceiling Miami previously had and, if sustained, entirely alters the calculus of this particular series. “Guys have to take ownership of that matchup and defend like we’re capable of.” He doesn’t get caught up in all the noise and everything. And you know, he really is the heart and soul of our group. “And I think we’ll be able to get him in places where he can be assertive and how he was all season.”

Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics picks, predictions, odds: Who wins ... (AZCentral.com)

The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics face off on Monday at TD Garden in Boston in Game 4 of their NBA Playoffs series.

Take the Celtics to even the series." It writes: "We have the Heat (+7) projected as the best bet in this contest. It writes: "Boston shot itself in the foot in Game 3. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. While the Heat had 92 shots from the field, the Celtics only had 70. Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Jason Radowitz writes: "Ultimately, the Celtics shot a higher percentage from the field and got to the foul line double the number of times that the Heat did. The site gives the Heat a 27% win probability in Game 4 of the NBA Playoffs series. With the potential of Butler missing Game 4, there’s a good reason for Boston to believe that Brown will stay hot and keep on cooking offensively. The Celtics just couldn’t stop tripping over themselves with seemingly endless turnovers, which greatly affected their shot attempts. It's interesting because the Heat were turnover machines in the regular season for most of the year. The No. 1 seed Miami Heat and No. 2 seed Boston Celtics face off on Monday at TD Garden in Boston in Game 4 of their NBA Playoffs series.

Celtics' Achilles' Heel Vs. Heat Becomes Clear After Game 3 Loss (NBC10 Boston)

The Celtics have outplayed the Heat in many ways during the Eastern Conference Finals, but they continue to be plagued by one issue that's a big reason why.

The good news is that the Celtics have excelled in pretty much every other area against Miami and arguably could be up 3-0 in the series with better ball-handling. " ... Six turnovers and no field goals in the second half. Saturday's poor showing came less than a week after Boston committed 16 turnovers in Game 1, including eight in the third quarter that sparked a 22-2 Heat run. And yet they ended Saturday night trailing 2-1 in the series -- and there appears to be a primary culprit. "(We understood) how they were going to guard guys and be physical, and we didn't match that from the start," Celtics head coach Ime Udoka said. "They're a really scrappy defensive team, but a lot of those were careless turnovers as well," Tatum said.

Heat vs Celtics live stream: How to watch game 4 of NBA Playoffs ... (Tom's Guide)

So, how did the Heat turn up the heat without Butler, who was the guy who practically won game 1 against Boston? Well, Bam Adebayo scored 31 points with 10 ...

Aussies can watch the Heat vs Celtics live stream on Kayo Sports, which has every one of the NBA Conference playoff games this year. Not in Australia but usually a Kayo subscriber? Having trouble actually getting ABC, ESPN, ESPN3 or TNT? Even if you can't watch the Heat vs Celtics live streams on cable, you're not out of luck. The $35 per month Premium Kayo plan gives you all the same things as the normal plan, but it offers three simultaneous streams. NBA fans in the U.K. need look no further than Sky Sports for all their Playoff needs. And it's currently offering 50% off the first month! Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 40 points in under 42 minutes, Horford contributed 20 in the same amount of time. Instead, you should get Sling TV, one of the best streaming services. This upcoming Heat vs Celtics live stream hopefully won't be like the last, which saw both teams tested for how they can do a man or two down. Unfortunately for the Celtics, a three from Max Strus and another Adebayo basket gave Miami their 6-point lead they would end the game on — and it was never cut down. Fortunately the Heat, that won't include Jimmy Butler, as he will be back after leaving in game 3's NBA playoffs live stream. The center also posted six assists and four steals.

5 takeaways from Miami's Game 3 win in Boston (NBA.com)

The Heat power past the Celtics to take a 2-1 series lead, despite Jimmy Butler exiting early with an injury.

“Every time we came to the huddle, we talked about we can’t get it back in one play, that we’ve just got to keep playing the right way. It wasn’t just the force with which Kyle Lowry returned to Miami’s lineup, though he brought plenty of that. Role players stepping up – like Strus, Caleb Martin and even Victor Oladipo for Miami (surprising solid defense by VO after starting the second half in Butler’s place) – is a fine thing, but the starters and top rotation guys don’t want their Finals trip or summer exit to be dictated by others. He doesn’t get caught up in all the noise and everything.” It was his soaring slam that stemmed the bleeding of an 8-0 Celtis run soon thereafter. “And it wasn’t just the scoring. The familiar surroundings and friendly faces didn’t do Boston any good when it got booed off the floor twice in the first half. The question to Boston was, how could the players and coaches possibly let that happen? Same when Boston got within nine in the third quarter and nine again early in the fourth. For whatever reason, we didn’t match that to start the game. Eventually, the Celtics got it down to one, Jaylen Brown’s 3-pointer with 2:40 left capping a 20-4 run. Miami had two gimpy veterans moving around well enough to be in the lineup: point guard Kyle Lowry and forward P.J. Tucker. Lowry hadn’t played in the East finals yet due to a sore hamstring.