Global Courant 2023-05-18 09:57:30
The Heat beat the Celtics on the road 116-123. The next game in the series will be this Friday, again at the TD Garden.
With a Jimmy Butler on fire, the Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics as a visitor at the TD Garden 116-123 on Wednesday night and won the first game of the NBA Eastern Conference final.
After leading the standings in the first round against the Milwaukee Bucks and in the semifinals against the New York Knicks, Butler maintained the great performance he has been showing in the Playoffs and closed a roster with 35 points, seven rebounds, six steals and five rebounds, with only three losses. .
In addition, the supporting actors of the Heat once again responded wonderfully. Bam Adebayo chipped in 20 points, while Max Strus, Gabe Vincent, Caleb Martin and Kyle Lowry each converted 15 points.
A striking statistic is that the Bucks won three of the four sets: 30-28 in the first, 36-29 in the second and 25-20 in the last. However, it was enough for Miami with the big difference they made in the third quarter (46-25).
Jayson Tatum (30 points and 7 rebounds) and Jaylen Brown (22 points and 9 rebounds) were the top scorers for a Celtics with six players in double-digit scoring. However, they suffered from ineffectiveness from the perimeter, making just 10 of 29 3-pointers.
Starting at 9:30 p.m. this Friday in Boston, the next game in this series will take place, which is the reissue of the 2022 Eastern Final, in which the Celtics prevailed after seven games.
Butler on fire and Boston with ups and downs
Butler shined with 12 points in the first quarter, but Boston, led by Tatum and a balanced contribution from his teammates, went into the second quarter with a minimal advantage of 30-28.
Butler’s stretches on the bench are when the Heat tend to suffer the most. However, Lowry converted 13 points in just over five minutes and boosted the visiting offense during his star’s break.
Jimmy Butler led the Miami Heat to a victory over the Boston Celtics in the first NBA East final. AP Photo/Charles Krupa.
It was then that the Celtics showed their best version attacking the paint, adjusting their defense and taking advantage of a tremendously effective Smart in distribution, with 10 assists in the first half. Thus, Boston signed a great run of 24-13, reached +13 and went to the locker room with a solid 66-57 score.
After the break, Miami once again tipped the court in their favor. Adebayo got strong inside, Strus hit his shots from the perimeter and the Heat, with renewed energy, tied the game 72-72 in just over three minutes.
Very disorderly and with an absolute lack of delivery, the Celtics lowered their arms on defense and Miami closed this third quarter 25-46 in favor (91-103), a difference that would prove irreversible. Those 46 points set a new quarter-high for Florida in a playoff game.
Jayson Tatum and Jimmy Butler, during the first Eastern final between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. (Photo: AP/Charles Krupa)
An angry Joe Mazzulla threw a slate to the ground in a timeout and his players got the message and went into the fourth quarter with a knife between their teeth. Thus, they got 7-0 in 90 seconds and regained their faith.
However, Tatum racked up three turnovers down the stretch and Miami hit two 3-pointers by Martin and Butler to seal a big win on the road.
With information from EFE.
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