Miami survives late Boston rally to take 2-1 Eastern Conference finals lead

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Miami Heat held their ground and weathered the storm in the second half against the Boston Celtics to bounce back in Game 3, 109-103, of the Eastern Conference finals and take a 2-1 series lead.

Despite missing the presence of superstar Jimmy Butler during the second half due to knee inflammation, Miami still found a way to win and relied on their defensive tenacity to outduel the Celtics on their home floor.

It was looking like a Miami blowout after the red and black immediately jumped to a 26-point lead at the 9:43 mark of the second quarter as shooting guard Caleb Martin sank a three-pointer from the left elbow that forced another Boston timeout.

From the get-go, the Heat showed aggressiveness and changed their focal point on offense to Bam Adebayo who barely touched the ball during the first two games of the series.

Adebayo was magnificent from the first quarter and quickly registered 12 straight points where he bulldozed his way against the tough Boston interior defense anchored by veteran Al Horford.

Another factor that helped the Heat get off to a rousing start was their 6/8 shooting from the three-point area, a department they struggled with during their disappointing Game 2 loss.

As Miami was looking to end the first half with the momentum on their side, Boston pulled off a 10-0 run spearheaded by Jaylen Brown and Horford to close the second quarter that helped them get back within striking distance.

Boston would retaliate in the second half and successfully got out of the 20-point hole, thanks to Brown’s crazy shooting night that carried them for most of the game.

During the 10:75^th mark of the third, the whole Boston bench and the TD Garden were completely silenced after Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart fell hard and exited the locker room which was suspected to be a nasty ankle injury.

Two minutes after the fall, the momentum entirely shifted to Boston as Smart came back, checked in for Payton Pritchard, and immediately buried a corner three-pointer that cut the Miami lead to just 10, 72-62.

The clash turned into a dogfight as Kyle Lowry, who finally returned after 13 days due to an injury, orchestrated the Miami offense well and filled the role of Butler perfectly.

Adebayo’s perimeter isolation jump shot ballooned Heat’s lead to 17 again but Boston responded big time off Brown’s offensive prowess.

The crafty Celtics shooting guard laid out all his offensive tricks and single-handedly carried the Celtics back into the game and trimmed the lead to just one, 93-92, after a stop-and-pop trey with 2:36 remaining in the game.

With Miami needing a basket to stop the bleeding, Max Struss came up big after swishing in a three on the other end to extend their lead to four.

Adebayo then sealed the win for the Heat after hitting a tough and contested fade-away jump shot against Horford with 1:22 remaining in the game that put Miami ahead 98-92.

It was so far the series’ most physical game as Jason Tatum also went down with a shoulder injury but eventually got back and tried to lead his team to the win.

Miami recorded 19 steals in the game, setting a new NBA Playoffs franchise record and is hoping to get Butler back for the pivotal Game 4 in Boston.