Global Courant 2023-05-22 09:03:52
Miami Heat crushed the Boston Celtics as a visitor this Sunday with a resounding 128-102 and was only one victory away from accessing the NBA Finals, after leading 3-0 in the decisive key of the Eastern Conference. Gabe Vincent was the great figure of the winning team, completing his form with unprecedented numbers for his career.
The Heat, who reached these Playoffs as the eighth in the East and having to play the ‘play-in’, made the most of a disappointing performance by the Celtics, who suffer little interference from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in this series, and already they savor not only access to the Finals, but also the taste of revenge after the elimination at the hands of their current rival in the 2022 Eastern final.
Like the Los Angeles Lakers in the West (they also lose 3-0 to the Denver Nuggets), Boston now depends on a historic comeback to advance, because no team in the NBA has managed to come back from 0-3 down in 149 games. .
In their final and enormous victory in the third game, Miami, which was already leading by 33 points in the third quarter, did not even need an extraordinary version of Jimmy Butler, who contributed 16 points (5 of 13 shooting), 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
Instead, it was a triumph of a seamless and wonderfully blended block (impressive 19 of 35 on three-pointers) with five other players with more than 10 points and with a very prominent name: a sensational Gabe Vincent with 29 points (his record of scoring) and a fantastic 11-of-14 shooting, with 6-of-9 3-pointers (also the best mark of his career).
The only bad news for the locals was the injury to Kevin Love, who left the game in the first quarter due to a sore left ankle and never returned to the field.
For his part, in a hopeless Celtics (11 of 42 on three-pointers), without pride or ability to react and who reserved their stars in the last quarter, Tatum collapsed with 14 points (6 of 18 on shots, 1 of 7 on 3-pointers) and Brown also failed with 12 points (6-of-17 on attempts, 0-of-7 on 3-pointers).
A Heat display
As has been the case in the development of the Playoffs, Miami showed an important balance between all its pieces in the first quarter. Proof of this is that seven of the eight players who stepped onto the pitch in that initial period scored at least one point and all joined forces for a powerful 11 of 19 accuracy from the field.
Caleb Martin, with 8 points without a miss, led that choral attack by Miami against some tremendously clumsy Celtics who accumulated 6 turnovers before reaching the second quarter (30-22).
Very frustrated with the referees and with many problems in defense -even when Butler was on the bench-, Joe Mazzulla’s men gave very worrying sensations against a Heat that smelled blood.
Thus, a spectacular “alley-oop” by Duncan Robinson for Bam Adebayo was the cherry on top of an overwhelming local offensive that led them to place themselves 22 points ahead of some paralyzed Celtics who were about to crash without having reached the break (59 -37 with 3.59 on the clock).
Like Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum still can’t gravitate to the East finals for the Boston Celtics. AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
However, Boston clung to the match with a 2-9 lead to end the quarter, obviously strengthening their defense in that stretch and closing the first half with many homework ahead but still alive (61-46).
The Heat hit 57.5% of their shots in the first half and three of their undrafted players (Martin, Robinson and Vincent) had double-digit scoring before heading to the locker room. Meanwhile, in Boston’s muddy attack (5 of 16 on 3-pointers), Brown and Tatum only added 19 points between them.
The visitors had found some green shoots at the end of the second quarter, but in the third they were completely wrecked. A devastating 22-10 run in just over five minutes capped off the overwhelming performance in the second half of a Heat that bordered on perfection until reaching an impressive +27 (86-53).
Everything shone in Erik Spoelstra’s men: his defense stifled Boston, his energy and confidence shone on both sides of the court, Vincent put his boots on from 3-point range, and a wildly aggressive Adebayo kept pounding the Celtics’ rim.
On the other hand, those in green collapsed, absolutely powerless and who did not even pull caste to try to contain a ridiculous capital.
Miami was on the rise in that majestic quarter (32-17) and, with an unapproachable 93-63 before the last period, the Celtics definitely threw in the towel.
Miami, on the verge of a historic achievement
These fascinating and highly deserving Heat are about to become the second team in NBA history to reach the Finals as eighth in their conference.
The 1999 New York Knicks were the only one that had achieved it so far, but in the series for the ring they lost against the San Antonio Spurs (4-1).
After sweeping Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks, the best team in the league in the regular season, and the New York Knicks along the way, Miami will try to get into its seventh NBA final this Tuesday from 9:30 p.m. in Argentina, with the objective of obtaining his fourth title in the most important basketball league in the world.
With information from EFE.
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