Adebayo steps up after Butler’s exit
BOSTON — Still angry over a blowout loss in Miami that cost them homecourt advantage in the Eastern Conference finals, the Heat jumped to a 25-point, first-half lead over the Boston Celtics in Game 3.
Then Bam Adebayo made sure it was enough — just barely — to give Miami a 2-1 lead in the bestof-seven series.
The Heat center scored 31 points with 10 rebounds, filling a void left by injured All-Star Jimmy Butler and leading Miami to a 109-103 victory Saturday night. Adebayo also had six assists and four of the Heat’s franchise postseason record 19 steals.
“He did his version of what Jimmy does: ‘Do what’s necessary for the game,’ ” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Tonight we needed the scoring and we needed that offensive punch early on.
“Then, when Jimmy was out in the second half, he just stabilized us. It got a little gnarly out there, and when it did, we were able to get the ball to Bam and just get something coherent.”
The Celtics never led, but they cut a 62-37 deficit to one point, 93-92, with 2:40 to play on a 3-pointer from Jaylen Brown, who finished with 40 points. Max Strus answered with a 3 and then Adebayo bounced off defender Al Horford and made a basket at the shot clock buzzer to give Miami a sixpoint cushion.
The Celtics never came any closer.
“In the previous game, as everybody noticed, they beat us like we stole something,” Adebayo said. “That should wake everybody up. Getting beat at home like that, that says it all.”
In a bruising game that saw Butler and Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart leave with injuries, though both Celtics returned, Kyle Lowry came back from a four-game absence and scored 11 with six assists for the Heat. P.J. Tucker scored 17 for Miami.
Horford scored 20 points with 14 rebounds, and Smart scored 16. Tatum had 10 points on 3for-14 shooting; he also had six turnovers, and Brown committed seven of Boston’s 2022 playoffhigh 24 turnovers.