The Boston Celtics needed a 24-point lead late in the game to see off yet another Miami Heat push in the fourth quarter.
In both of the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, there were moments where it seemed Boston all but had the games locked up.
In Game 3, it seemed like we were headed for an encore performance. The Celtics built an early lead and held it … until the few minutes of the game, when the Heat somehow fought back from being down 104-88 to bring it within five in the last minute. Jimmy Butler and Miami’s never-say-die attitude looked like they were going to claim yet another victim.
This time the Celtics actually saw it out, however, winning 117-106. They flipped the script, and we’ve got a series.
The narrative after the game will surely be that the Celtics played like themselves again. And yes, they did play well. Though I’d argue they played well in the first two games. At least at for the first three quarters.
The main difference in Game 3 was that they built up enough of a lead to see off the late Heat run.
But the Celtics can’t rely on building up a 26-point lead in the fourth quarter every game to see off this series. They need to figure out how to contain the Heat in the fourth and match up their intensity, or else Game 3 will merely be an aberration — the one game where they were able to build an insurmountable lead.
To be fair, the Celtics looked good. The arrival of Gordon Hayward was absolutely a boost for the Celtics, and he looked better than I thought he would — playing 31 minutes despite missing extended time with an ankle injury.
Sure he only finished with 6 points on 2-7 shooting, but he contributed rebounding, playmaking, and defense — notching three steals and a block on the night.
Kemba Walker is finally figuring out how to get looks, and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown continue to be the spark for the Celtics. Brown led all Celtics scorers with 26 points, and Tatum put up a ridiculous 25-14-8 night, along with a +/- of +23.
The Celtics also did a better job closing out the Heat outside shooters in Game 3 (and got a bit lucky with the Heat missing a bunch of open looks). Jae Crowder finished 2-10 of the night from deep, with Goran Dragic going 1-5.
The Heat continue to dominate inside, with Bam Adebayo just owning Daniel Theis and getting good looks whenever he wants. And honestly I’d continue to break down all these matchups but it’s all sort of irrelevant if the Celtics are going to let the Heat go on 15-point runs late in games every game.
The Celtics’ Brad Stevens and the Heat’s Eric Spoelstra are two excellent coaches. The lineups match up better than you think. They will continue to make adjustments, and each one of these games should be close.
I hate to be reductive, but the thing that’s stood out in the first three games, and the one huge difference between the two teams, is that the Heat own the Celtics late. Boston will have to change that if they want to keep this series going. They won’t build a 25-point lead every game.
