Two days after getting beaten convincingly 128-102 to the Miami Heat in game three of the Eastern Conference Finals and getting called out by NBA legend Magic Johnson for their overall lack of effort, the Boston Celtics stayed alive in the 2023 NBA Playoffs on Tuesday with a 116-99 win over the Heat. However, there is no doubt the Celtics have a lot of work to do as they still trail the Heat three games to one in the best out of seven series.
Six Celtics reached double digits in scoring, Forward Jayson Tatum of St. Louis, Missouri had 33 points. The All-Star in fact had a double-double as he had 11 rebounds. Small forward Jaylen Brown of Marietta, Georgia had 17 points, guard Derrick White of Parker, Colorado had 16 points, power forward Grant Williams of Houston, Texas had 14 points, center Al Horford of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, had 12 points, and guard Marcus Smart of Flower Pound, Texas, the 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, had 11 points.
The first half was relatively even. The Heat took a 56-50 lead after 24 minutes.
JOIN OUR NBA GROUP CHAT (DISCORD) HERE!
Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 27)
Miami extended their lead to nine at 61-52 thanks to a 26-foot three-point shot from Max Strus, when Boston went on a run for the ages. They scored 18 straight points in the third quarter, as Miami was unable to score for a period of four minutes and 28 seconds. In this time frame the Celtics made four three-pointers as Tatum had two, while White and Smart each had one.
There is no doubt this was a bounce back game for Tatum and Brown. After being a combined -48 in game three, they were a combined +30 in game four.
For FREE!
