It was total domination, Gabe Vincent scored a career-high 29 points (including a career-high six three-pointers), Duncan Robinson added 22 and the eighth-seed Miami Heat would cruise past the Boston Celtics 128-102 on Sunday night. Miami leads the series 3-0, and they have the opportunity to close the series with a sweep on Tuesday night at home in Game 4.
Robinson made five three-pointers and now has 124 in his Heat postseason career; he passed LeBron James for the most in Miami Heat playoff history.
“The lack of mental toughness. It’s embarrassing … that was an embarrassment for the Celtics.” — TNT’s Charles Barkley at halftime.
It is certainly remarkable how the Heat reached this point, they were a team that had to pull off a frantic rally against the Chicago Bulls during the play-in tournament, just to make the playoffs. They are now just one win away from reaching the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons.
“That was a solid, mature, professional approach, there’s a lot of pent-up stuff here and we’re getting closer, but we still have to finish this off,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who is one victory away from reaching his sixth NBA Finals appearance.
Kevin Love checked out 4:47 into the game after what the Heat said was an undisclosed ankle injury. He went to the Heat locker room for evaluation, returned to the bench area later in the first half, but did not return to the game. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra would relay to the media after the game that Love is expected to play in Game 4 on Tuesday.
Caleb Martin scored 18 points, Jimmy Butler added 16, Bam Adebayo had 13 and Max Strus would pitch in 10 for Miami. The Heat would not even play their two stars, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, during the fourth quarter.
“To their credit, they’re playing well above their means, they’re ballin’ right now, and I’ve got to give them respect. Gabe Vincent, Martin, Strus, Duncan Robinson, guys that we should be able to keep under control are playing their (butt) off,” Celtics star Jaylen Brown said.
Not a single team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series, the Boston Celtics are in trouble because the Heat are a perfect 8-0 when they hold a commanding 3-0 series lead.
“The rim was as big as the ocean for everybody,” Bam Adebayo said, after Miami shot an impressive 57% from the field.
Jayson Tatum scored 14 points (shooting 6-for-18) and Jaylen Brown added 12 (shooting 6-for-17) for the second-seed Celtics, who won three times on Miami’s court on the way to winning last season’s Eastern Conference Finals in seven games. Between offensive struggles and a massive 30-point lead from the Heat, the Celtics would empty their bench and Tatum and Brown would never return to the game.
“I just didn’t have them ready to play. Whatever it was, whether it was the starting lineup or an adjustment, I have to get them in a better place, ready to play. That’s on me,” said Boston coach Joe Mazzulla.
The NBA Finals will begin on June 1st, and the Western Conference Finals could come to an end on Monday; Denver leads that series over the Los Angeles Lakers 3-0, and the East finals could come to an end on Tuesday if Miami sweeps Boston.
“It’s the first to four games, we’re not satisfied with three,” Gabe Vincent said.
If the Heat and Nuggets were to sweep their respective series in the East and West Finals, it would be the first time in the history of the NBA that it actually happens.
The Heat are certainly enjoying the moment, NBA analysts have doubted them from the onset of the playoffs, and even till now. That goes without saying, according to the ESPN computer driven data and analytics, they were projected to only have a 3% chance of making it to the NBA Finals when the series with the Celtics began last week; Miami only needs one more victory to make it there.
Jimmy Butler is channeling the energy of all the doubters and his opponents, Boston’s Al Horford directed a timeout signal toward the Miami Heat bench during Game 1 when the Celtics were on a second-quarter run, in a game where Miami would ultimately come back to win on the road. Butler would do the same right back to Horford in Game 3, signaling a timeout to a visibly upset Horford as the Heat were running away with Sunday night’s game in the third quarter.
“I don’t even know where to start, it’s an obvious letdown. I feel like we let our fan base, organization down. We let ourselves down. And it was collective. We can point fingers, but in reality, it was just embarrassing,” Jaylen Brown said.
Boston would bring the game back within 12 points when Marcus Smart produced a three-point play on the opening possession of the second half. The rest of the way though, it was all Miami, who immediately answered with a 28-7 run to rip the game open with a 33-point lead at 89-56, and ultimately ended the third period with a 30-point lead. Miami would coast the rest of the way in the fourth quarter after Boston waved the white flag by putting their entire bench on the floor, signaling that they had accepted defeat, while they were staring down a 3-0 series deficit.
“We’ll decompress tomorrow, but we’ll really get our minds right to finish this thing off,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
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