Balanced Celts bounce back
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Getting big leads has been relatively easy for the Celtics in these Eastern Conference finals.
This time, they also found a way to finish the job.
And just like that, the East title series got a whole lot closer.
Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum added 25 and the Celtics got right back into the East finals with a 117-106 victory against the Heat in Game 3 on Saturday night. Kemba Walker added 21 to help the Celtics close their deficit to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Marcus Smart scored 20 points for the winners, going 9-for-9 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. The Celtics — who also got 14 rebounds and eight assists from Tatum — outscored the Heat 60-36 inside the paint, built a 20-point lead and never trailed. Gordon Hayward made his return after missing a month with a sprained right ankle, scoring six points in 31 minutes.
“It was really fun to be back out there with the team, with the guys,” Hayward said. “I just tried to impact our team in winning ways, whatever I could do.”
The Celtics held the Heat to 39% shooting.
Bam Adebayo had 27 points and 16 rebounds for the Heat, who fell for just the second time in 12 games in these playoffs. Tyler Herro scored 22 points, Jimmy Butler had 17 and Duncan Robinson 13.
The Heat rallied from 14 points down to win Game 1 in overtime, 17 points down to win Game 2, but never caught up Saturday — though they put together a late run to make matters interesting.
They got within eight on a three by Robinson with 1:12 left, setting the tone for the Celtics to scramble at the end. Brown committed a flagrant foul nine seconds later, and Robinson made one of two free throws to cut the lead to 109-102.
Adebayo scored on the ensuing possession to pull within five and cap a 24-9 surge, but the Heat, who were 12-for-44 on threes, got no closer.
Herro had 16 points in the second quarter alone to keep the Heat close, the last of those 16 coming on a three-pointer with 3:22 left before halftime to cut the lead to 51-48.