Miami, Embarrassed at Home by the Celtics, Return the Favor

Boston never came close to matching the toughness and physicality that Miami brought to Game 3 despite that being all Miami Heat players and coaches talked about coming into the game.

The Miami Heat were soundly beaten by the Boston Celtics at home in Game 2, the kind of pumelling that they did not take too kindly to.

They talked about ramping up their physicality and doing a better job of paying attention to the tiniest of details.

They would play better, something the Celtics were warned about by the coaches would be the case.

It didn't matter.

That message, like most of what head coach Ime Udoka tried to prepare his team to deal with, fell on deaf ears.

"From the start, it looked like we were wilting to their pressure," Udoka said. "We started complaining to the refs; took us out of the game from the start. It's disappointing to come out that flat in a Conference finals game."

The end result was the Celtics falling into a 26-point hole before rallying within a point, only for the Miami Heat to make all the clutch shots and get the key defensive stops to hang on for a 109-103 win.

Miami now leads the best-of-seven series 2-1 with Game 4 in Boston on Wednesday.

Both teams rank among the league’s top defenses, so physical play is a given.

But the physicality of both teams, even in these early stages of play, is becoming a theme to watch.

At different points in the game, Boston’s Marcus Smart (ankle) and Jayson Tatum (shoulder) left the game only to return to a loud ovation from the home crowd.

Miami’s Jimmy Butler wasn’t as fortunate.

He played just 20 minutes before being shut down for most of the game due to swelling in his right knee.

And before the game, Boston’s Robert Williams (knee soreness) was ruled out which meant yet another game in which Boston’s preferred starting lineup - Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Williams - would not be on the floor together.

Replacing Robert Williams, who is listed as day-to-day with his injury, in the starting lineup was Daniel Theis, whose presence didn’t do anything other than seemingly wake up what had been a dormant Bam Adebayo who had a double-double of 31 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals.

While he wasn’t scoring a ton of points on Theis per se, Al Horford on more than one occasion had to assist defensively and when the ball swung back to Adebayo, Horford was frequently out of position to defend effectively.

Boston’s defense wasn’t great most of the night.

But more than so-so defense, the Celtics lost this game due to a lack of poise and composure on the offensive end of the floor along with a lack of attention to detail when it came to their transition defense.

Boston turned the ball over 24 times which led to 33 points for the Heat, a ridiculously high number that leads to a blowout loss for most teams.

As bad as the Celtics p[layed, they were down just a single point (93-92) after a Jaylen Brown 3-pointer with 2:40 to play.

But a 3-pointer by Max Strus made it a two-possession game and the Heat’s control of the game was never threatened again.

Here are the Stars, Studs and Duds from Boston’s Game 3 defeat.

STARS

Bam Adebayo: He set the tone with a dominant first quarter, and came up big in the closing moments at both ends of the floor. He finished with a double-double of 31points and 10 rebounds to go with six assists and four steals.

STUDS

Jaylen Brown: The turnovers he committed (a game-high seven) were problematic all game, but it was Brown’s second-half shot-making that gave the Celtics hope of a miracle comeback. Brown led the Celtics with 40 points along with nine rebounds.

Al Horford: He had his struggle defensively against Bam Adebayo, but Horford was still strong for Boston most of the game. Horford was a strong presence on the boards and scoring the ball, as he finished the game with a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds.

Max Strus: The former Boston Celtic had 16 points which included a clutch 3-pointer after a Jaylen Brown 3-pointer had brought Boston within 93-92 in the fourth.

DUDS

Jayson Tatum: All Boston needed in this one was five or so minutes of “Top-5 Tatum” and this game was there for the taking. Instead, Tatum would struggle all game long. He scored just 10 points on 3-for-14 shooting to go with six rebounds and four assists and six turnovers

Celtics’ composure: Miami’s defense has been among the best in the NBA during the regular season and the playoffs, but there’s no excuse for the insanely-high number of turnovers Boston committed in Game 3. Boston turned the ball over 24 times which led to 33 points for the Heat.