Miami Early in the third quarter, the Heat led 23 points thanks to a 3-pointer from Gabe Vincent after Marcus Smart missed another layup. Jimmy Butler also signaled a Celtics timeout by kneeling at center court, which rookie coach Joe Mazzulla finally called. Before Boston lost its first three 12-point leads in the series, Al Horford attempted the same taunt earlier in the Eastern Conference finals.
Max Strus, a wing for Miami, was called for a technical foul at the same moment for insulting the Celtics. Max Strus, the same guy the Celtics waived to give Tacko Fall a human victory cigar for 169 minutes of worthless play.
“Jimmy got that one for me,” Strus remarked in reference to his first NBA career insult. “I was only taking advantage of him. Not very wise, but I’ll take it. Whatever.” And what was said by Strus? “Can’t say that in here.”
As Miami won 128-102 and took a commanding 3-0 series lead, it was making fun of Boston, the overwhelming favorite. In Game 4 on Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT), the Heat, who eliminated the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in five games two rounds ago, have an opportunity to sweep the second seed and go to the NBA Finals at home.
If the Celtics hadn’t given up before boarding the aircraft, there’s no use in dissecting this game beyond saying that Miami molly-whopped them until they gave up. The Boston team’s performance in playoffs was undoubtedly the most awful one in a while, and Kaseya Center went all out for the burial.
“Man, it was loud in here,” remarked Duncan Robinson, a sharpshooter from Miami.
Jayson Tatum returned to defense after only two minutes following the Strus tech, which gave Caleb Martin another opportunity to shoot a wide-open jumper. On the following possession, Tatum made his third mistake, which resulted in a basket for Strus. Mazzulla ordered another timeout, and the situation seemed to worsen as the Heat lead, 83-56.
Miami had a 33-point lead at one time. It might just as well have been 69. It was a farce of a game.
Vincent, Strus, Robinson, and Martin, four undrafted Heat players, combined for 79 points on 28 of 45 shots (62.2%), including 17 of 31 from beyond the arc (54.8%). The Celtics’ whole seven-man lineup, which included 24-of-72 field goals (33.3%) and 6-of-31 accurate long-range shots (19.4%), resulted in 59 points during their victories over the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers in the first two rounds. When the Heat last defeated the Celtics in the conference finals, Vincent was a player in Sioux Falls. He scored a playoff career-high 29 points, which was more than the combined total of All-NBA wings Tatum and Jaylen Brown (26 points on 12-for-35 field goals and 1-for-14 3-pointers).
Do we really need to say more? The Celtics responded to losing the first quarter 30-22 by allowing Robinson to glide down the lane for a basket on the first play of the second quarter—a game they sorely needed to win.
Marcus Smart, behind by 13, decided that the only way he could generate offense was to flop in the backcourt rather than try to pick up more points in transition. Instead, he received a whistle for an offensive foul. With nine seconds remaining on the shot clock and down by 21, Brown and Tatum simply looked at each other at the top of the key. Eventually, Brown made an incorrect 3-pointer. If they even had a plan, it was unclear. If they did, it was insignificant since Tatum, Brown, Horford, and Smart
Tatum remarked, “It’s unfortunate just to be transparent.” “It goes without saying that our goals were to play better, perform better, achieve a different result, or at the very least, give ourselves a chance. It’s difficult. Tonight, for whatever reason, we didn’t have it. You don’t want to say that at this stage of the season, but it’s on us.”
had a chance to trim the leWhen the Celticsad to 15 points in the second quarter, Derrick White slowed down enough to allow Cody Zeller to block his shot instead of attacking. Butler, of course, scored on Grant Williams, got a foul, and laid on the floor pointing at the Celtics forward and making fun of him for what felt like an eternity.
