Herro helps Heat top C’s
Rookie nets 37 as Miami takes 3-1 series lead HEAT 112 CELTICS 109
At this point the Celtics have been haunted by the entire Miami cast, now with a result that has put them on the edge of elimination. Tyler Herro, the rookie sharpshooter taken a pick ahead of Romeo Langford in the 2019 NBA draft, erupted last night with a 36-point performance that kept the Celtics at arm’s length for the majority of a 112-109 Game 4 loss in the Eastern Conference finals.
The loss dropped the Celtics into a 3-1 series hole, and again found them — after a reprieve in Game 3 — struggling to find a steady offensive flow.
Jayson Tatum responded to his first scoreless half of the season with a 28-point performance, but overall the Celtics never quite found their rhythm.
Jaylen Brown’s corner 3-pointer with 16 seconds left cut the Miami lead to 107-104 after a video review gave the Celtics the ball off an out-of-bounds call.
Herro was trapped and fouled with 13.9 seconds left, and hit twice for a 109104 lead. Walker was fouled by Butler near the 3-point line, and was given three shots — he hit all of them — and cut the Miami lead with 9.2 seconds left to 109-107.
Butler pulled in a crosscourt inbounds pass, was fouled (Marcus Smart’s sixth), bounced in his first attempt and swished the second for a four-point lead with 6 seconds left.
Walker rimmed out a 3-point attempt, though Gordon hayward put back the miss.
But with 1.1 seconds left Butler hit both.
Tatum drew a foul with 5:38 left and hit twice, cutting the Miami lead to 95-89. Brown quickly picked up his fifth foul, but Smart, securing a rebound after a fourshot Miami possession, went to the line off the play with 5:01 left.
The Celtics guard missed the second of two, leaving the Celtics down by five points. The next time down Smart launched an ugly downtown miss, and Herro answered with his sixth three for an eight-point lead.
The Celtics cut it to five on a Brown hoop, and the next time down Smart cut it to three off a Kemba Walker offensive rebound.
But Goran Dragic scored off another multiple shot possession, Tatum traveled, and with 2:04 Jimmy Butler hit a turnaround for a 102-96 lead.
Tatum hit his third 3-pointer, but Dragic answered from downtown for a 105-98 lead. Hayward lost the ball, and Herro scored off a cut down the lane for a 107-98 Miami lead.
Tatum’s bomb with 42.9 seconds left cut the Miami lead to six points. He then stripped the ball from Butler at mid-court, but was stripped by Adebayo down the other end. The ball went out of bounds, Tatum won the jump ball, and missed badly from downtown. The ball, upon review, was awarded to the Celtics with 18.5 seconds left.
Tatum recovered from his first scoreless half of the season with a 16-point third quarter, including a 3-pointer that cut the Miami lead to a point before time ran out.
The Celtics thus went into the fourth trailing, 77-76, after trailing by as many as 12 in the third. But Herro opened the fourth from downtown, though Tatum answered him with a drive.
Walker’s open three with 9:20 left yet again trimmed the Heat lead to one, and the next time down, Theis dunked off a Brown feed for an 85-84 lead with 8:33 left – an edge wiped out immediately by a Bam Adebayo putback. Herro came back, off a Butler steal, with his fourth 3-pointer for an 89-85 Miami lead.
Smart lost the ball on the next possession and picked up his fourth foul on the same play, and threw the ball away again the next time down, leading to a Herro drive for a 91-85 Heat lead.
Tatum hit from 10 feet, only to be answered by Adebayo. Gordon Hayward missed from the corner, Jaylen Brown fouled Dragic, and the Miami point guard hit twice for a 95-87 lead with 5:43 left.