On Monday, the benefit belonged to Boston from the beginning. The Celtics had been faster to unfastened balls, extra energetic in disrupting passing lanes and extra coordinated in switches, limiting high quality seems to be for Miami. They had been extra pressing in getting again on protection and rotating within the paint, not permitting the Warmth to push for quick breaks as they did on Saturday. Boston’s protection was so efficient that Miami shot solely two 3-pointers within the opening quarter, limiting its likelihood at making up the deficit till it was too late. It was the precise sort of power that Boston sorely missed within the first half of Sport 3. Miami’s starters mixed for 18 factors.
What made the sport even stranger is that the Celtics didn’t play effectively offensively. They had been solely 5 for 27 on 3-point makes an attempt once they entered the fourth quarter up 24 factors and the sport was successfully over. They ended the sport taking pictures 39.7 % from the sphere, a proportion that will end in a loss on most nights, not a blowout win. In addition they received despite a poor sport from guard Jaylen Brown, who shot 5 for 20 from the sphere for 12 factors.
Miami, a staff that likes to satisfaction itself on its hustle tradition, gave up 10 offensive rebounds within the first half. Warmth middle Bam Adebayo, who lastly broke out for 31 factors in Sport 3, reverted again to being tentative, taking pictures the ball solely twice within the first half. He completed with 9 factors. Largely, this was due to the presence of Celtics middle Robert Williams III, who missed Sport 3 due to knee soreness. Williams, who was named to the All-Defensive second staff final week, made life troublesome on the rim for Miami. He had 12 factors and 9 rebounds in solely 19 minutes.
“We shouldn’t need to get punched within the mouth to reply,” Williams mentioned of the staff’s poor begins in its losses.
Maybe this sport was inevitable. The Celtics haven’t misplaced two video games in a row the whole postseason. Of their semifinal matchup in opposition to the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston responded to letdowns with three robust performances. Nobody has been extra indicative of the Celtics’ fortunes this postseason than their high participant, Jayson Tatum — a Jekyll and Hyde celebrity.
There are nights when Tatum seems to be like top-of-the-line gamers within the league. These nights are sometimes coming off Boston defeats. Together with Monday evening’s 31-point efficiency, Tatum has averaged 32.6 factors after the Celtics’ losses throughout the postseason. He was aggressive in attacking the basket, attending to the road 16 occasions, greater than every other sport on this playoff run.
However when Tatum performs poorly, he seems to be extra out of kinds than most superstars. His shoulders droop. He settles for troublesome step-back jumpers, complains to referees and doesn’t get again as aggressively on protection. In Sport 3 in opposition to the Bucks, Tatum had solely 10 factors and shot 4 of 19 from the sphere. On Saturday evening, Tatum had the same efficiency — scoring 10 factors on 3-of-14 taking pictures.
