NBA Playoffs – Led by Tatum and Brown: Boston Celtics make an impressive return against the Miami Heat

In Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics, led by the strong Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, reported back impressively and defeated the Miami Heat with 117: 106. So it is only 2: 1 for Miami in the series.

Brown was the top scorer of the Celtics with 26 points (11/17 FG) and also had 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Tatum also showed his versatility, in addition to 25 points, he grabbed 14 rebounds and distributed 8 assists. Kemba Walker (21) and Marcus Smart (20) also scored well. Bam Adebayo (27 & 16 rebounds) and Tyler Herro (22) were the hardest-working point collectors in the Heat, Jimmy Bulter (17) and Goran Dragic (11) remained pale.

After his injury in Game 1 of the first round against the Sixers, Gordon Hayward Boston was available again for the first time. Coming from the bench without minute restrictions, but under special observation by Brad Stevens, who trusted his protégé for 31 minutes.

As in every game in this series, the Celtics got off to an excellent start, hit seven of their first ten throws and were particularly successful in the initial phase with hard drives to the basket, which gave them a quick 9-point lead. Thanks to a successful threesome by Tatum just before the siren, the first break was just that ahead (31:22).

Similar picture in quarter number two. Against the notorious zone defense of the Heat, the Celts managed with simple points near the basket (34 to 10 points in the paint in half time) and defended themselves brilliantly. Only one hot Herro (16 points in the quarter) had Miami to thank for not being more behind at this point.

Favored by the strong defense of Tatum and Brown, the Celtics started a 9-0 run at the end of the game, which provided the highest lead of the game (+13). With 63:50 from the perspective of the Celts, it finally went into halftime. At this point, Tatum and Brown were already together with 30 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals.

Boston Celtics verhindern Comeback der Miami Heat

And even after half-time, the Celtics continued to press the accelerator. It was clear to Brad Stevens’ team that they did not want to repeat the mistakes of previous games as they gave double-digit leads in half two. Again and again they managed to get behind the last defensive line of the Heat and find free players in the corners or under the basket.

Brown’s next strong layup over Adebayo forced Erik Spoelstra to take another time out in the middle of the third quarter – +18 for Boston. Some points simply left behind led to a 9-1 Miami run that shifted momentum and pushed the deficit back to +10.

The Heat ended the quarter with an unusually lack of concentration and allowed a 7-0 run in the last 50 seconds, making it 89:74 in Boston in the final twelve minutes.

Miami’s big comeback didn’t happen that evening. Nothing more wanted to fall from outside (15 threesomes hit the ring in a row) and defensively, the intensity of the previous games was lacking. An And-One from Marcus Smart to the 20-point lead with almost eight minutes on the clock was something like the preliminary decision.

Miami managed to reduce the deficit to -8 in the last two minutes, but the Celtics were too serene to really let anything burn.

The most important statistics

Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics 106:117 (BOXSCORE), Serie: 2-1

• In the Heat, foul problems were an issue early on. Jae Crowder (3), Duncan Robinson (3) and Adebayo (2) played only limited minutes in the first half. The same was true for Daniel Theis, who picked up his fourth foul shortly after the start of quarter three.
• The ball went much better at the Celtics that evening than in Game 1 and 2. The 24 assists from Game 1 (only 19 in Game 2) were cracked in the middle of the fourth quarter (27 in total).
• The Celtics clearly won the game in paint. There the Heat had no answer to Boston’s aggressive approach that evening, 60 to 36 points in the paint were on the statistics sheet at the end.
• The threesome didn’t want to fall particularly well on either side. 9 out of 26 hits in the Celtics (34.6 percent) were compared to 11 out of 44 in the Heat (27.3 percent).
• One of the recipes for success was also the small lineup of the Celtics. Hayward’s comeback allowed Boston to be on the pitch without a nominal center, which made them more agile – offensively and defensively.

Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics: The Voices for the Game

Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics): “What I do best is get to the basket. I wanted to get out of here today and show the best version of myself.”

Brad Stevens (Head Coach Boston Celtics): “I told my team yesterday that the result didn’t count for me. It’s much more about how we present ourselves.”

The star of the game: Jaylen Brown

On both sides of the square, the 23-year-old attracted attention with his intensity. With 26 points he was top scorer of the Celtics and delighted again and again with his aggressive drives to the basket. Also on the defensive with 3 important steals and many strong possessions.

The flop of the game: Goran Dragic

As good as Dragic was in the first two games, he was as weak in game 3. His throw didn’t want to fall at all (2/9 FG for 11 points) and he was also vulnerable defensively. His plus-minus was by far the worst of all heat players (-29).