Injuries pile up for Heat, Celtics

BOSTON » The Heat were embarrassed in Game 2, surrendering home-court advantage in their blowout loss to the Celtics in their Eastern Conference finals matchup.

Miami returned the favor in Game 3, building a 26-point first-half lead en route to a 109-103 victory despite star Jimmy Butler sitting out the second half with swelling in his right knee. Tyler Herro also didn’t play the final eight minutes because of a groin injury.

With Boston’s Jayson Tatum (stinger) and Marcus Smart (sprained ankle) also suffering injuries late, the Celtics went from a chance to take control of the series to trying to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time in two months.

In addition to Tatum and Smart, center Robert Williams III sat out Game 3 with swelling in his surgically repaired left knee.

As expected, Celtics coach Ime Udoka said the trainer’s table was busy.

“Marcus has some swelling in his ankle. Took a pretty bad sprain. Finished the game, but he’s gonna feel it a little more today,” Udoka said. “Getting worked on and getting treatment. See how he feels tomorrow. Jayson is fine. It’s a stinger that went away pretty quickly. And the Rob has improved. Feels better than he did yesterday. … It’s day to day. We’ll test it out tomorrow and see how he feels.”

Tatum (nerve impingement) is probable for Game 4, with Smart and Williams listed as questionable.

Beating back a late-game charge by Boston to preserve a victory and take a 2-1 series lead is an encouraging sign for a Heat team that was 15-10 without Butler during the season. The Heat wrapped up their firstround series against Atlanta without both Butler and Kyle Lowry.

Lowry played for the first time in this series Saturday, finishing with 11 points, six assists and four steals in 29 minutes. He had missed eight of the previous 10 games with a right hamstring injury.

He said it felt good to be back, but acknowledged it was tough to see both Butler and Herro added to their injury list — potentially again leaving Miami at less than full strength.

Mavs hit with $100k bench fine

DALLAS » The NBA fined the Dallas Mavericks for a third time in the playoffs because of violations of rules regarding bench conduct.

The fine has doubled each time, with the latest at $100,000 after Game 2 of the Western Conference finals at Golden State Friday.

Several Mavericks players have stood for most or all of the games during the playoffs, including home games. The fines have been for players and coaches standing for extended periods, straying too far from the bench and encroaching on the court during game action.

The first two fines were from the West semifinals against Phoenix, after Games 2 and 7 in Arizona. The first fine was $25,000, the second $50,000 after a 33-point Dallas victory in the deciding game.