Boston Celtics v Miami Heat (Heat lead 2-1)
This was a huge game for both teams. The Celtics were looking to build off the momentum of their game three victory where they staved off the dreaded 3-0, and the Heat were looking to put themselves one game away from a trip to the finals.
The first quarter was an all-out scrap fest. The Heat edged out the Celtics with a score of 24-23 heading into the second quarter. In the second quarter, the Heat they clamped down on their defense against the Celtics and extended their lead to 50-44.
The third quarter saw a nice comeback for the Celtics. They finally broke through the Heat’s defense to cut the lead to 77-76. The Heat finally got some push back, but they were able to answer back in the fourth. The Heat had to hold off a late run by the Celtics that made it a lot closer than they would’ve liked, but they prevailed 112-109. They are now one win away from the finals.
The Celtics were led by F Jayson Tatum (28PTS 9REB 4AST 1STL 3BLK). He was awful in the first half as the Heat defense keyed in to hold him scoreless. If the Celtics plan on winning game five and staying alive in this series, Tatum will have to play better basketball and at the level he played in the second half. G Kemba Walker (20PTS 4REB 5AST) and F Jaylen Brown (21PTS 9REB 2AST 1STL 1BLK) finally showed up for a game, but it wasn’t enough to take down the Heat. That bad first half and the many turnovers (19) only fueled the Heat.
The Heat were led by G Tyler Herro(37PTS 6REB 3AST). This rookie scored the second-most points by a player under 21 in a playoff game; Magic Johnson holds the record for the most. Herro had a good regular season, but for those who had never seen him before got to see his best. He was the best player on the court in this game and was the biggest reason the Heat won. In the fourth quarter, he hit every big basket to match any attempt the Celtics made to comeback. The Heat had four players (Herro, C Bam Adebayo 20PTS, G JImmy Butler 24PTS, and Goran Dragic 22PTS) score 20 plus points.
The Celtics won their only elimination game in these playoffs in their last series with the Raptors. Now they need to win three in a row if they want to pull off this upset. The way the Heat are playing right now, I don’t see this happening, especially with Herro coming alive as another option for this Heat team.