NBA | The Miami Heat defeat the Celtics and strike first with a galactic Jimmy Butler

Euroleague

Preview of the Final Four: Another Classic in Europe in search of the grand final (21:00)

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9 HOURS AGO

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Of more less, the Celtics accused the wear of their semifinal against the Milwaukee Bucks and they had as top scorer Jayson Tatum (29 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals).

The two teams showed up to the first match with significant casualties.

Los Celtics they couldn’t count on the Dominican Al Horford (coronavirus protocol) and Marcus Smart (sprained right foot) while Kyle Lowry still low with Heat (hamstring discomfort).

This series between two very physical and defensively focused teams left a fabulous block recital for both teams in the first game.

BOSTON ASUSTA…

The Heat did not enter the game on the right foot. Miami missed seven shots in a row at the start against the Celtics who, at first, showed no signs of fatigue after their exhausting series against the Bucks.

Boston went on to win by 9 points in the first quarter, thanks to the outside-inside combination of Tatum y Williamsbut Herro reactivated Miami coming off the bench and managed to decipher the demanding defense of the Celtics (25-28).

Nesmith He had hardly had a place in the Boston rotation, but the absences made room for him today and he vindicated himself as soon as he stepped on the court with a block on Martin.

Los Celtics still controlled the transitions and the rhythm, so much so that with Williams dominating the painting without rival and with Brown y Pritchard joining in attack they gave a stretch to their advantage (30-41 with 7.34 for the break).

Somewhat withered and as if they lacked energy, the Heat also trembled to see how Tucker he left injured, but the veteran player was able to return without problems already in the third quarter.

Tatum was absolutely unstoppable for the Celtics and went to the locker room with 21 points, but a late reaction from the Heat, with Herro and Butler in command of operations, he left the match in a manageable margin at halftime (54-62).

The visitors made 59% of their shots in the first two quarters and put 42 of their 62 points in the paint.

… AND MIAMI RESPOND

The story completely changed in the third quarter.

A convincing partial of 10-1, with Butler and Adebayo taking advantage of a solid defensive improvement from his team, he gave the Heat advantage over some Celtics asleep after the break (64-63 with 9.02 to play).

Much more aggressive and committed to fighting for each ball, the Heat followed in this facet the example of a Tucker dedicated to the cause and an Adebayo who placed two fantastic blocks to Williams y Brown.

The Celtics showed no signs of life and the turnovers and missed shots were piling up.

Thus, with two baskets in a row after stealing Butlerthe Heat crowned an amazing 22-2 to achieve their biggest difference so far (76-64 with 5.42 left).

With obvious signs of fatigue and frustration with both the Heat and the referees, the Celtics melted in that third quarter (93-76 after a 39-14 run) in which they only made 2 of their 15 shots (0 of 7 triples), lost 8 balls, and suffered 17 points from a sensational butler and the 10 points of a Vincent also very inspired.

With nothing to salvage from that terrible third set, except for an imposing stopper of Theis a DedmonBoston did the rest at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a 3-10 run that gave them some hope (96-86 with 8:21 to go).

Nevertheless, Butler returned to the track after a few minutes of rest and closed without major problems the triumph of Miami.