The reaction was expected, it took place: Boston, more aggressive and more armed this time, in the wake of the duo Jayson Tatum / Jaylen Brown, defeated Miami (117-106) to close the gap to 2-1 in the Eastern conference finals revived in the NBA.
This time there was no Heat recovery – at least until the end – or panic aboard the Celtics ship. The latter, required to win, after two defeats which highlighted more solidity and toughness in the opponent, have in turn demonstrated without wavering too much.
And this, even if the Floridians, long dominated and much less sharp than usual, did not give up by coming back to five points before the last 60 seconds, while they counted 15 three minutes earlier and even 19 at the start of the last quarter.
Fortunately, Marcus Smart went to the coal to look for faults in the basket and registered his eight free throws (20 pts), illustrating the determination of the C’s in this ultimate difficulty, he who had left the locker room in a fury, after a big text explanation between players and staff following Thursday night’s defeat.
“We had to be more aggressive and stay that way for the 48 minutes, which we did. And we played better too,” summed up Jaylen Brown, who praised “the collective will and the big one. characters displayed to get back into the saddle “.
It has indeed been seen. They never let their opponents take the measure of the match, especially in the indoor sector. And Brown struggled to set an example (26 pts, 7 rebounds, 5 assists), notably succeeding 3 interceptions including two on Bam Adebayo which he often took care of in defense, despite a slight deficit of size.
– Butler, Dragic off –
The other “Jay” of the team, Tatum was also very productive, passing close to a beautiful triple-double (25 pts, 14 rebounds, 8 assists) and who often hurt with his baskets in transition, rewarding the big defense of the C’s.
Opposite, Adebayo, although concentrating a maximum of attention, was nonetheless very effective (27 pts to 10/14 on shots, 16 rebounds, 3 interceptions, 2 blocks), just like Tyler Herro, the essential rookie from the bench who planted 22 points including 4 award-winning baskets behind the arc.
But he still missed the Heat its two attacking leaders, Jimmy Butler (17 pts, 8 rebounds) and Goran Dragic (11 pts) who have never really been able to raise the mercury, especially in this money-time they love so much.
This therefore did not prevent the Floridians from pointing their muzzles at the end of the fourth quarter, under the leadership of Duncan Robinson (13 pts).
And what had the gift of recalling in Boston – where Kemba Walker (21 pts) also found the going and where Gordon Hayward (6 pts, 4 assists) succeeded in his return one month after a sprained ankle – that victories will be won hard to the end in this series.
Episode 4 of this fascinating series, Monday.
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