Heat Alert: Miami beats Boston 109-103 for 2-1 series lead

BOSTON (AP) — Bam Adebayo scored 31 factors with 10 rebounds for the Miami Warmth, who blew a 25-point, first-half lead and misplaced Jimmy Butler to a knee damage however held on to beat the Boston Celtics 109-103 in Sport 3 of the Jap Convention finals on Saturday night time.

Boston by no means led within the sport, however erased virtually the entire 62-37 deficit and got here inside one level, 93-92, with 2:40 to play on a 3-pointer from Jaylen Brown, who completed with 40 factors.

Max Strus answered with a 3 after which Adebayo bounced off defender Al Horford and made a basket on the shot clock buzzer to provide Miami a six-point cushion it held to take a 2-1 lead within the best-of-seven sequence.

Sport 4 is Monday night time in Boston.

In a sport that noticed Butler and Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Marcus Sensible go away with accidents — although each Celtics returned — Kyle Lowry got here again from a four-game absence and scored 11 with six assists for the Warmth. P.J. Tucker — like Lowry a game-time resolution — scored 17 for the Warmth.

Horford scored 20 factors with 14 rebounds, and Sensible scored 16. Tatum had 10 factors on 3-for-14 capturing; he additionally had six turnovers and Brown dedicated seven of Boston’s 24 turnovers — a 2022 playoff excessive.

After dropping Sport 2 at dwelling by 25 factors to cede home-court benefit to the Celtics, the Warmth opened a 62-37 lead with underneath three minutes left within the second quarter after which watched Boston rating the final 10 factors of the half to claw its method again into the sport.

Issues received worse for the Warmth after they introduced at halftime that Butler, who scored 41 within the sequence opener, wouldn’t return with proper knee irritation.

Miami nonetheless led by 15, 87-72, after three, and made it a 17-point sport on Adebayo’s basket to begin the fourth. However the Celtics ran off the following 9 factors to get inside single digits for the primary time for the reason that first three minutes of the sport. Trailing 93-80, the Celtics scored 12 straight factors – 10 by Brown – to make it a one-point sport with 2:40 left.

IN AND OUT

Boston opened the second with a basket to make it a 13-point sport, however the constructing went silent when Sensible, the Defensive Participant of the Yr, went down in a collision with Lowry whereas going for a unfastened ball and wanted to be helped to the locker room.

Sensible returned simply 5 minutes later, drawing an enormous cheer when the scoreboard confirmed him strolling down the tunnel again towards the courtroom. He checked again in with seven minutes left within the third and hit a 3-pointer that made it a 10-point sport, 72-62, and compelled the Warmth to name timeout.

The scenario was repeated when Tatum went down in apparent ache with 5 minutes left within the fourth. He went straight to the locker room, clutching his proper aspect, but in addition returned to the cheers of the gang.

Lowry missed eight of the Warmth’s earlier 10 video games with a proper hamstring pressure, final enjoying in Sport 4 of Miami’s second-round sequence with Philadelphia. Tucker had a sore left knee however was additionally within the beginning lineup.

The Celtics performed with out heart Robert Williams III, who missed three video games within the second spherical in opposition to Milwaukee with soreness and a bone bruise in his surgically repaired left knee. Daniel Theis began in his place. Derrick White returned after lacking Sport 2 to be on the delivery of his first little one.

TIP-INS

The Celtics’ 24 turnovers led to 33 Miami factors. The Warmth had 9 turnovers that led to 9 Celtics factors. … Miami’s bench outscored Boston’s 26-16. … The Warmth shot 64% within the first quarter, however completed at 46.7%. … Penn State coach and former Celtics assistant Micah Shrewsberry and Windfall School coach Ed Cooley had been each in attendance.

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