The Miami Heat are still a winning horse despite coming from the play-ins. Spoelstra’s team, Ere Ere: 3 playoff series, 3 road wins in the opening game. TD Garden was no exception. Jimmy Butler is still the king.
116–123 win in Boston to go 1–0 in the Eastern Finals. Starting with a huge third quarter in which Miami scored 46 points. Franchise record and game turn. The 91–103 at the end of the quarter was the biggest advantage for the Florida guys. Triple is doing a lot of damage.
Jimmy Butler never stops with his performances on both sides of the field. Fifth consecutive game with 30 or more points. Defense optimum level. Tonight: 35 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 6 steals. He took 25 shots. He scored 20 points after halftime. But the best thing going for the Miami Heat is that Butler is not alone. Up to 5 teammates scored 15 or more.
Bam Adebayo did a good job with his 20 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. and Gabe Vincent, Max Straus, Caleb Martin and Kyle Lowry all scored 15 points. All with a good shooting percentage. the first two holders; Last two optional.
Special mention to Strauss. Because it was a pivotal piece in the decisive third quarter.
Boston dominated the first half by attacking the opposing basket. Looking for perpendicularity towards the hoop. loss in the paint (40–16 in the first half). For a break of 66-57. Local offensive party with 18 points from Jayson Tatum. And along with Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon and Jaylen Brown are also double-digit scorers.
But the third quarter arrived and the offensive team changed sides. Miami offensive performance and Boston defensive collapse. for 25-46. Miami in the fourth: 65.4% from the field with 6 of 9 triples, 13 of 5 on rebounds without giving up a single one in their own basket and only 1 turnover. Strauss, Butler and Adebayo commanded the record offense. Celtics in trouble.
The last quarter was a hymn to solvency on the part of the Heat. Full control of the scoreboard. Boston tightened up on defense after their disaster in the previous quarter. But Miami would not budge. The locals came down to 110-114. And crucial three-pointers came from Martin and Butler—this one with some luck—for 110–120 with 1:02 remaining.
In that last move, by 2 losing moves by Tatum. A Tatum who went missing in the last quarter in an incredible way. He didn’t make a single shot for the basket! Only some free people nurtured him. And your team went down without your input.
Tatum finished with 30 points. But he gave only 1 assist and disappeared at the time of definition. Jaylen Brown had 22 points and 9 rebounds. But he turned over 6 balls and went 0 of 4 on three-pointers in the final quarter. Malcolm Brogdon scored a total of 19 points. Robert Williams III added 14 assists and 7 rebounds. and Marcus Smart had 13 and 11 assists.
Dominican Al Horford played 32 minutes. For 7 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. It was not conclusive on either side of the court.
Miami prevailed with some rest. This is an underrated team that is always in the ointment. He is already in his 3rd conference finals in 4 years. He already warned about his basketball in the Disney bubble. He fell in the finals against the Lakers, faced with two first-order casualties. But many people continued to say that those summers were the glow of a day. Well, many days have passed, no less than 3 years. And Spoelstra’s team, win or lose, continues to deliver flowers.
