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Butler, one of the standout players of these playoffs, spearheaded the victory of Miami masterfully with 41 points (12 of 19 shooting, 17 of 18 free throws), 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks.
From more to less, the Celtics accused the wear of their semifinal against the Milwaukee Bucks and had as top scorer Jayson Tatum (29 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals).
The two teams showed up to the first match with significant casualties. The Celtics could not count on the Dominican Al Horford (coronavirus protocol) and Marcus Smart (sprained right foot) while Kyle Lwory still out with the Heat (hamstring soreness).
The Heat did not enter the game on the right foot. Boston He managed to win by 9 points in the first quarter, thanks to the outside-inside combination of Tatum and Williams, but Herro reactivated to Miami coming off the bench and managed to decipher the demanding defense of the Celtics (25-28).
Tatum He was absolutely unstoppable for the Celtics and went to the locker room with 21 points, but a late reaction from the Heat, with Herro and Butler in charge of operations, left the match in a manageable margin at halftime (54-62).
The story completely changed in the third quarter. A convincing partial of 10-1, with Butler and Adebayo taking advantage of a solid defensive improvement from his team, he gave the Heat the lead against a sleepy Celtics after the break.
Much more aggressive and committed to fighting every ball, the Heat followed in this facet the example of a Tucker dedicated to the cause and a Adebayo who placed two fantastic blocks to Williams y Brown.
With obvious signs of fatigue and frustration both with the Heat as with the referees, the Celtics they melted in that third quarter (93-76 after a 39-14 run) in which they only made 2 of their 15 shots (0 of 7 triples), lost 8 balls, and suffered 17 points from a Butler sensational and the 10 points of a Vincent also very inspired.
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Related
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