Miami Heat of America youngster, Bam Adebayo was again in top form and notched a very impressive haul of 27 points and 16 rebounds, but his effort was not good enough to save his side from losing 117-106 to Boston Celtics in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Finals in USA’s National Basketball Association (NBA).
While Adebayo battled to overcome a dip in form by his team, Tyler Herro also rose to the occasion with 22 points, as six of Miami’s players hit double figures, but The Heat still went on to suffer their second defeat in 12 play-off games and their lead on The Celtics was cut to 2-1 with Saturday’s setback at ‘The Bubble’ in Orlando, Florida, USA.
Megasportsarena.com gathered that Boston had the last laugh this time, as Jayylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum added 25 and Gordon Hayward made his return to help The Celtics spank The Heat and haul themselves back into contention in the Eastern Conference Finals.
After falling 2-0 behind in the series following Thursday’s defeat, Celtics’ players reportedly aired their frustrations in a raucous locker room and it seemed to do the trick as they were never behind en route to victory.
The Celtics were also boosted by the return of Hayward, who scored six points in 31 minutes of a welcome return from an ankle injury that has kept him out since August 17, with Kemba Walker scored 21 points and Marcus Smart 20 for Boston, while Tatum added 14 rebounds, shot 48.2 per cent (41 of 85) as a team, outscoring Miami 60-36 in the paint.
Boston never trailed, carrying a 13-point advantage into the second half for the second straight game but unlike in Game 2, when they were outscored 37-17 in the third quarter, the Celtics maintained control and entered the fourth with a 15-point advantage.
It was a lead they increased to as many as 20 in the final period but Miami stayed competitive and at one stage got within a couple of baskets to lead Celtics wobbling but, trailing 109-102, after Duncan Robinson nailed a 3-pointer and hit 1 of 2 at the line following a Brown flagrant foul with 1:03 left, Adebayo trimmed the deficit to five with 55.9 seconds to go, but Smart hit eight free throws as the Celtics held on.
Boston led 31-22 after the opening quarter and extended their lead to 12 on a Walker 3-pointer with 10:14 left in the first half to lead 36-24, yet Miami responded with a Herro-inspired 13-4 run to get within three with just over three minutes of the half remaining; but Celtics ended the quarter on a dominant run of their own, a 12-2 burst giving them a 63-50 at the break.
Adebayo and his pals rued what went wrong in Game 3, but they will now take time out to rest and gather their wits back together, as both teams now have a three game break, after three games in five days; and they will return fresher for Wednesday’s all-important Game 4.
Heading into that decisive tie, Adebayo’s teammate, Jimmy Butler, who had 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists, said: “We didn’t play hard enough. We weren’t playing basketball the way that we have been to win the games that we have been winning.”
