May 26, 2023 (Jack87 News) – The Eastern Conference finals defending champion is still trying to hold on tight to their reign as they outfires the Miami Heat in today’s game. Four players from the Celtics showed capability of carrying the crown by scoring 20+ points each. They have ended the game in their beloved homecourt with a final score of 110-97, rewriting the series score to 2-3 in favor of the opposing team.
Specific scores (the Celtics are behind): 20-35, 24-26, 28-29, 25-20.
Celtics Player Stats: Derrick White 24 points and 3 rebounds, Marcus Smart 23 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 steals, Jaylen Brown 21 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, Jayson Tatum 21 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists, Al Horford 6 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists, Grant Williams 6 points and 4 rebounds, and Lowe 6 points and 5 rebounds.
Heat Player Stats: Jimmy Butler 14 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, Bam Adebayo 16 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, Highsmith 15 points and 2 rebounds, Martin 14 points and 5 rebounds, Duncan Robinson 18 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists, Kyle Lowry 5 points, Strus 3 points, Kevin Love 6 points and 6 rebounds.
BK8 Vincent was sidelined with a sprained ankle, so Lowry was put in the starting lineup. Tatum was whistled for a technical foul for yelling at the referee after dunking, which in turn inspired the fighting spirit of the Celtics. Smart, Brown, and Tatum scored 4 three-pointers in a row. The Celtics at home played a 16-1 wave and instantly expanded the point difference to 15 points. Adebayo played inside in singles, while Strus hit the Heat’s first three-pointer, but Tatum scored 2+1 and scored 5 points in a row. Martin retaliated with 3 points, plus Zeller made two inside shots, but the Celtics’ three-pointers were hot. With White hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer, the Celtics led 35-20 in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Heat used a zone defense against the Celtics. However, Bet99 Brown scored 8 points in a row with two long-range three-pointers. After veteran Horford made two mid-range shots, the Celtics led by 17 points. Just as the Celtics were going smoothly, the team suddenly failed to score in 3 minutes. Duncan led the team to a 6-0 spurt. Butler dunked 2+1, but the Heat made 10 turnovers in two quarters. White and Smart scored another 3 points. At halftime, the Heat trailed 44-61.
After changing sides, the Heat scored only 4 points in the first 4 minutes of the start, and all of them were contributed by Butler. Adebayo, who has been silent for two quarters, has shown signs of recovery in scoring 4 consecutive singles, but the Heat made too many mistakes. After Smart and White made long-range three-pointers successively, the Celtics led 88-65. Martin stopped the bleeding with 3 points, Adebayo made 6 turnovers in a fast-break dunk, Tatum assisted Lowe for a dunk, and the Celtics led the Heat by 18 points 90-72 at the end of the third quarter.
During the last quarter, 22Bet White caused a three-point foul by Butler, and the Celtics started a 6-0 spurt by relying on consecutive kills. Highsmith ended the Heat’s scoring drought, Love made a mid-range shot, and the Heat responded with a 6-0 spurt to stop the Celtics. After the timeout, Tatum made an emergency stop to make a mid-range shot, and Highsmith made two three-pointers. With 3 minutes left, both teams sent substitutes to play. In the end, the Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat 110-97, rewriting the series score to 2-3.
