Celtics avoid 03 hole in East finals

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Getting big leads has been easy for the Boston Celtics in these Eastern Conference finals. But 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 117106 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 3 on Saturday night. Kemba Walker added 21 to help Boston pull to 21 in the bestofseven series. Marcus Smart scored 20 points for Boston, going 9for9 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. The Celtics — who also got 14 rebounds and eight assists from Tatum — outscored Miami 6036 inside the paint, led by as many as 20 and never trailed.

The Celtics held Miami 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 3pointer 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 Boston’s lead to 109102.

Adebayo scored on the ensuing possession to get Miami within five and cap a 249 run, but the Heat got no closer.