Celtics survive 4th quarter rally to win their first game of the ECF.
Before game 3, some would say the Celtics not grabbing a victory in game 2 with the instant classic performance from Rajon Rondo was astonishing; but the C’s held their heads up focused to make this a series in game 3. The game started off as the LeBron James show, literally, as he scored 16 points in the opening quarter. Celtics forward Brandon Bass picked up 2 early fouls midway through the first and would have to sit putting Boston in a bad position as they needed an offensive boost from the others. Soon after that, Boston’s bench was big in the first quarter as they had 8 points. Jumping to the 2nd quarter, Miami would go on a cold streak without a field goal for nearly 8 minutes since the end of previous quarter. Boston outscored the Heat by 10 points in the quarter with Ray Allen hitting a 3-pointer before the half to give them a 13-point lead. Fast-forwarding to the 3rd quarter, the Celtics would continue their efforts from the previous quarter and would go on a clinic almost outscoring the Heat again by 10 to finish the quarter. Paul Pierce would hit another Celtics late quarter 3-pointer as he put his team up by 22 points heading into the 4th. In the 4th Boston would go up by as many as 24 with Ray Allen driving to the paint for a dunk from a punk fake on Mike Miller. On the next ensuing possessions, Miami would quickly go on a 17-4 run led by Mike Miller who hit three 3-pointers. LeBron James scored a driving layup at the 8 min. mark but wouldn’t score the rest of the game. At the 7 min. mark, the Heat were within single digits down by 9 points. The Celtics quickly restored order to the game scoring 4 straight field goals in the paint due to the Heat playing small with LeBron James at the center position. Rajon Rondo would put the C’s up by 10 at the 1:40 mark and KG would put the finishing touches on game 3 with a 20-foot jump shot.
Fresh off his career night from game 2, Celtics floor general Rajon Rondo finished with 21 points, 10 dimes and 6 boards almost grabbing another signature triple-double. KG had the biggest impact of this game on both ends of the floor as he had some very key rebounds to stop Miami’s late 4th quarter run. Garnett finished with a team high of 24 points and 11 boards while Paul Pierce chipped in 23. The Cetics bench in more particular Marquis Daniels and Keyon Dooling contributed to 16 points off the bench taking some pressure from off the Big 4. Before the start of the 2nd half, LeBron James had nearly half of the Heat’s points as he was the only player in sync with the game. The MVP finished with 34 points, 8 boards and 5 dimes, while Co-captain Dwyane Wade finished the game with 18 points shooting 9-20. Both teams equally shot 5-17 from beyond the arc, but Miami’s problem in game 3 was their free throw and technical foul shooting. The Heat went 10-20 from the stripe with LeBron James going 1-5 and also missed a key pair of technical free throws as well. Remember it did take OT in game 2 for Miami to prevail, so the Celtics are definitely back in this series, momentum wise. Heading into game 4, the approach for the Celtics should be to take game 4 just like they did game 3 and treat it like a game 7. If Boston doesn’t win the game, it’s going to be extremely difficult to come back to South Beach Tuesday night and prevent the Heat from winning a close out game. Heat forward, Chris Bosh partook in a morning workout Friday morning before game 3 in his first action since his lower abdominal strain injury suffered 2 weeks ago. Bosh is still ruled out as indefinite for game 4 but could possibly return game 5 if needed with a Celtics victory. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters Friday that Bosh would be re-evaluated daily.
Game 4 is scheduled Sunday on ESPN with a tip-off set for 8:30 pm (ET).
Win Or Go Home.
(2) Miami Heat vs. (4) Boston Celtics | Heat Lead 2-1
Game 1: Miami 93, Boston 79
Game 2: Miami 115, Boston 111 (OT)
Game 3: Boston 101, Miami 91
Game 4: at BOS, Sun. June 3, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
Game 5: at MIA, Tue. June 5, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
Game 6: at BOS, Thu. June 7, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, (If Necessary)
Game 7: at MIA, Sat. June 9, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, (If Necessary)
Bonus: Mike Hill And Jalen Rose Discuss Celtics Game 3 Win And Preview Game 4