MIAMI, May 22, 2023 (AFP) – The Miami Heat knocked the stuffing out of the Boston Celtics on Sunday, powering to a 128-102 victory to take a 3-0 stranglehold on the NBA Eastern Conference finals.
The Heat, who host game four on Tuesday, are one win away from reaching the NBA Finals.
The Celtics though are battling the weight of history — no NBA team has rallied from 0-3 down to win a best-of-seven playoff series.
Heat talisman Jimmy Butler scored 16 points and Bam Adebayo scored 13. But it was point guard Gabe Vincent who led the way, connecting on 11 of 14 shots from the field, including six of nine from three-point range, on the way to a game-high 29 points for Miami.
Duncan Robinson added 22 points off the bench for Miami, who are vying to become just the second eighth-seeded team, after the 1999 New York Knicks, to reach the NBA Finals.
Unlike in their first two wins of the series in Boston, there would be no need for the Heat to claw back a double-digit deficit to triumph.
In front of a pumped-up crowd at Kaseya Center in Miami, the Heat dominated, Boston unable to build on an early three-point lead in the face of a total team effort from the hosts on both ends of the floor.
Boston star Jayson Tatum scored 14 points and Jaylen Brown added 12, but Tatum made just one of his seven three-point attempts and Brown missed all seven of his as the Celtics connected on just 11 of their 42 three-point attempts.
Miami led by as many as 33 in the third quarter, shooting 56.8 percent from the field as they limited the Celtics to less than 39.8 percent.
“As you can tell, the rim was as big as the ocean for everybody,” said Adebayo — who thrilled the crowd with a pair of alley oop dunks and a spin around Brown for a one-handed slam.
“(We were) making the extra pass, making the right pass and everybody played together.”
Caleb Martin scored 18 points off the bench for Miami. Max Strus chipped in 10 and the Heat didn’t miss a beat when veteran Kevin Love departed after less than five minutes with an injury.
The Heat closed a fast-paced, physical first quarter on a 9-2 scoring run to lead 30-22 and pushed their lead to as many as 22 points in the second quarter.
Boston managed to cut the gap, but with the Celtics again struggling from three-point range and with turnovers, Miami’s 61-46 halftime lead represented the biggest halftime deficit faced by Boston this post-season.
There would be no re-set for the Celtics in the third quarter.
Miami out-scored them 32-17 in the period to take a 93-63 lead into the fourth.
Tatum and Brown combined for just three baskets in the third, Miami’s dominance evident on back-to-back Boston possessions midway through the third — Adebayo blocking Tatum’s shot on one and Martin coming up with a steal to set up a Strus three-pointer.