Celtics bounce back from consecutive losses to beat Heat

Boston shot 48.2 percent (41 of 85) as a team, outscoring Miami 60-36 in the paint. Bam Adebayo had 27 points and 16 rebounds, and Tyler Herro scored 22 to lead six players in double figures for the Heat, who lost for just the second time in their 12th playoff game.


Reuters | Updated: 20-09-2020 09:20 IST | Created: 20-09-2020 09:02 IST
Celtics bounce back from consecutive losses to beat Heat
Representative Image Image Credit: ANI

Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum had 25 and 14 rebounds and the Boston Celtics recovered from back-to-back tough losses to beat the Miami Heat 117-106 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals Saturday night near Orlando. Kemba Walker added 21 points and Marcus Smart 20 as the Celtics avoided falling behind 3-0 in the best-of-seven series. Boston shot 48.2 percent (41 of 85) as a team, outscoring Miami 60-36 in the paint.

Bam Adebayo had 27 points and 16 rebounds, and Tyler Herro scored 22 to lead six players in double figures for the Heat, who lost for just the second time in their 12th playoff game. Jimmy Butler had 17 points. Game 4 will take place Wednesday.

In the wake of falling behind 2-0 in the series after Thursday's defeat, Celtics players reportedly aired their frustrations in a raucous locker room scene. The team responded, boosted further by the return of Gordon Hayward (six points in 31 minutes) from an ankle injury that sidelined him since Aug. 17. 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 up 89-74.

Despite Boston leading by as much as 20 in the final period, Miami got within seven, 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 was up 31-22 after one and grew its lead to 12, 36-24, on a Walker 3-pointer with 10:14 left in the first half. Miami responded with a 13-4 run to get within three, Herro nailing a trio of treys during the stretch.

The Heat were back within three, 51-48, with 3:22 remaining, but the Celtics ended the quarter on an 12-2 spurt to lead 63-50 at the break. -Field Level Media

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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