MIAMI (AP) – The good news for the Miami Heat is that the Boston Celtics may not be able to return to South Florida for several months.
And that’s also bad news for the Heat.
Boston is now in complete control of this Eastern Conference series, with Derrick White scoring a career-high 38 points on Monday night to lead the top-seeded Celtics over the eighth-seeded Heat. 102-88, taking a 3-1 lead in the opening game. -NBA Playoff Series Round.
“We made some shots early,” said White, who made 15 of 26 field goals and 8 of 15 3-pointers. “It always helps. Making a couple makes the basket look bigger.”
The Celtics have won six straight games in Miami and are 14-3 in their last 17 games on the Heat’s home field. But the win came at a price, as Kristaps Porzingis went down in the first half with a right calf injury announced by the team. He left the arena wearing walking boots, a common precaution.
Celtics manager Joe Mazzula said he did not have an update on Porzingis’ condition after the game.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” Mazzula said.
For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Jaylen Brown had 17 points and Jrue Holiday had 11 points.
“We had to keep fighting,” Tatum said. “And we had to make some desperate plays in a way.”
Bam Adebayo had 25 points, 17 rebounds and five assists in Miami, which had a sellout crowd that included Lionel Messi, but starters Jimmy Butler (knee) and Terry Rozier (neck) suffered injuries. I played again without any problems. The Heat scored just 84 points in Game 3 and struggled offensively again in Game 4.
Tyler Herro had 19 points and Caleb Martin had 18 points for the eighth-seeded Heat. Miami lost rookie starter Jaime Jaquez Jr. to a leg strain in the second half. He is scheduled to be evaluated on Tuesday.
“Offensively we struggled again,” Heat manager Erik Spoelstra said. “We had some decent looks early on, but we just couldn’t break it out. And Derrick White was obviously very good tonight. … He’s very talented, very good. was.”
The Celtics can advance to the second round by hosting Game 5 on Wednesday. The winner of Boston vs. Miami will face the winner of Cleveland vs. Orlando in the East semifinals. The Cavaliers-Magic series won’t end until at least Friday.
“We’re going into the lion’s den,” Adebayo said. “Everyone knows what’s at stake. 3-1.”
However, the Celtics currently have injury concerns, and Porzingis lifted his jersey over his face in a fit of rage after being injured late in the first half.
“I’m concerned,” said Celtics center Al Horford, who started in Porzingis’ place after halftime. “I’m just concerned. … It’s certainly a concern for me. He’s fine, but I don’t know what’s going to happen. I hope it’s nothing serious and he’ll be back soon.”
There was more drama with 5:04 left when Tatum tried to take a 3-point shot right after a foul was called. Adebayo fielded a dead ball play and Tatum rotated his left ankle as Adebayo stepped into the landing area. The referees gave Adebayo a flagrant 1 and Horford a technical in response.
Tatum remained in the game.
“I’m sure he’ll be OK,” Mazzula said.
Adebayo did not want to discuss the explanation he received for why his actions amounted to flagrant foul play. “We just go from there,” he said.
Good news for Boston. According to history, this series will end soon.
This is the 29th time a Boston team has led 3-1 in a best-of-seven series. The Celtics won all 28 of their previous series, including seven in the NBA Finals and the 2010 first-round series against Miami. This was the last game the Heat played before luring LeBron James and Chris Bosh to South Florida and forming a superteam around Dwayne. Wade.
Miami couldn’t keep up with this game. White scored 16 points in the first quarter, when the Celtics built a 34-24 lead. And no matter what the Heat did on defense, the offense couldn’t close the gap.
Consider this: The Celtics had 34 points at the 12-minute mark, but it took the Heat almost 23 minutes (almost the entire first half) to reach the 34-point mark. Miami scored just 59 points through the third quarter, matching its season low from Game 1 of this series in Boston.
“In my heart of hearts, I know we have a game,” Spoelstra said. “It just takes a few more balls in and all of a sudden it lights up.”
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