The Miami Heat, supported once again by a tremendous performance by Jimmy Butler, beat the Boston Celtics on the road 111-105 and stretched their lead to 2-0 in the best-of-seven NBA Eastern Conference final series.
The Heat continue to surprise in the NBA playoffs if it is taken into account that they qualified through the play-ins and have a favorable outlook since they will be local at their Kaseya Center stadium in Florida, in the next two games.
For their part, the Celtics, current runners-up in the NBA, are forced to react in the third game on Sunday to avoid a 3-0 deficit that has never been traced in history in this instance.
Butler was once again the figure of Miami with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals and assuming the responsibility of leading the team in the midst of a tough “duel” with Boston center Grant Williams.
Williams, on a mission to slow down the explosive guard, provoked him with a few words after hitting a 3-pointer. Butler responded with a basket and a personal foul against Williams and went directly to find him to discuss face to face.
Butler was seconded by a remarkable Bam Adebayo, who was close to a triple double with 22 points, 16 rebounds and 9 assists, although what was done by substitute guard Caleb Martin, with 25 points, an unexpected weapon for the Heat, cannot go unnoticed.
The Heat were down 12 points (77-89) in the last 10 minutes and took advantage of the Celtics’ offensive short circuit.
Boston’s leader, Jayson Tatum, finished with 34 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists but was erratic in the final moments and didn’t score in the entire fourth quarter, while Jaylen Brown stayed at 16 points with a very poor 7/ 23 shooting from the field.
Today at 9:30 p.m. in Argentina, the third point of the Western Conference final will be played at the Crypto.com Center in Los Angeles, in which Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets win 2-0 against LeBron James’ Lakers.
2023-05-20 11:00:15
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