6 quick ideas as the Celtics drop a Game of 3 against the ugly, hurt-ridden Heat

And somehow the Heat still found a way to hold on and win 109-103. The Celtics have won or drawn in the final three quarters after a disastrous opening stint in which the Heat rose by as much as 26 points, but Miami’s lead slowly faded, and the Celtics didn’t find the tap to speed it up. Jaylen Brown cut 3-pointers late in the fourth inning leading the Heat to one, but the Heat had one last answer – Max Strauss buried a triple-pointer two minutes from the end, Adebayo scored, capping Kyle Lowry with a very successful comeback. Clutch theft.

Given the Heat won the game almost entirely due to live ball turnovers, it’s tempting to say the Celtics threw a winnable game, but that downplays the Heat’s reaction after Thursday’s win. Both teams are clearly capable of throwing haymakers, and both teams are clearly capable of sucking them up and backfilling.

During this post-season, the Celtics have been really good at ripping through after disappointing losses, which is a key advantage because they brought down some really disappointing losses. On Saturday, they were out of business, and they lost despite enjoying a large number of advantages.

Now they need to assemble again.

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2. Saturday’s game was a war of attrition, so here’s the injury recap from the post-match podium: Robert Williams is “really” a day-to-day for all of Ime Udoka and could be back as soon as Monday. Marcus Smart His ankle rolled It’s a scary scene captured by the cameras in the stadium, but Odoka assumes he’ll be fine going forward. Same goes for Jason Tatum, who suffered a sting.

“My neck got stuck in a weird position,” Tatum said. “Obviously I went down and had some pain and discomfort in my neck and down my arms, then I went back, checked it, and started to feel some sensation again and the doctors checked it up and did some tests and decided to give it a try.”

Eric Spoelstra had no health updates for anyone on his team. Laurie and PJ Tucker both had nursing injuries, and it’s unclear what’s going on with Butler. He will not receive any more MRI.

3. Jaylene Brown scored 40 points but struggled hard against Miami’s defensive pressure and turned the ball more than seven times. He and Tatum (six) combined for 13 of 21 transformations in the Celtics. In a match in which they won by six points, the Heat beat the Celtics 33-9 in points over turnovers.

“It’s happened to us twice in this playoff round,” Horford said bluntly. “It’s something we keep fighting, and it seems like every time we put ourselves in a situation, we’ve turned the ball around.”

Again, the Heat had a big role in that, but if the Celtics are hoping to advance, it is imperative that they stop turning the ball around. The fact that they actually solved this problem once in Game 2 makes Saturday’s performance particularly strange.

“I did the following — today’s work is basketball sponsorship,” Brown said. “But just being stronger, I drive them and I keep being aggressive and I keep getting to the basket and I keep doing what I’m doing but I get stronger when I get there. They let a lot of things go tonight, especially when I feel like I’m driving and getting to the basket, I feel like hand in hand. The whole time… I never got those manual verification calls.

“But I don’t make excuses. We are getting better. I did that – ball care job today. I have to do better.”

Given the free-throw disparity, Brown’s comments about those responsible may fall on deaf ears.

4. Tatum was 3-for-14 and 1-for-7 deep with six turnovers. When he got back into the game in the fourth inning after having an ambulance, the Celtics who eventually had some of his teeth collapsed instantly.

“I feel like I left the guys hanging tonight,” Tatum said. “That’s me. I admit it. It was hard.”

When asked about Tatum’s periodic nights, Udoka said his issues were just “understanding how [the Heat] She’ll protect you” and then revolve around talking about issues at the team level.

“everyone [the Heat] What we talked about was upping their physical abilities, feeling awkward at home, and that’s what we talked about, not being surprised or feeling good about ourselves or satisfied winning in their place, understanding how they’re going to guard the guys, being physical, and Odoka said, “We didn’t match that from the start. “. “It looked like we were succumbing to their pressure and started complaining to the referees and we were kicked out of the match from the start.”

If you’re a Celtics fan and are looking for a little hope on a rough Saturday, you could do worse than the fact that Tatum is unlikely to be that bad again on Monday.

5. After scoring only 16 points in Matches 1 and 2 combined, Pam Adebayo had an amazing evening – 31 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four shots. Butler was great in the first game, but the Heat brought more than just Jimmy Butler to the table.

A reporter pointed out to Udoka that the presence of Robert Williams – who missed Saturday’s game with a sore knee – may have made a huge difference against Adebayo.

“Adebayo kind of put his shoulder toward whoever he was guarding, in their chest, so Rob can’t save the day as much,” Odoka said. “Men should take ownership of this rivalry and defend as we can.”

6. Once again, he will meet plays for their season. The Celtics and Heat exit Game 4 on Monday at 8:30 p.m. on ABC.