In the first round of the NBA Playoffs, the Miami Heat hold a 3-0 series lead over Indiana following Saturday’s win.
The Miami Heat are in cruise control right now. On Saturday, the Heat took on the Indiana Pacers for Game 3 of the two teams’ first-round matchup, with Miami coming away with a strong 124-115 victory.
With the result, Miami is now one win away from knocking the Pacers out of the postseason, as they hold a 3-0 series lead.
The Miami Heat are on the verge of eliminating the Pacers from the postseason
The Pacers looked strong in the second half in Game 3 against Miami, but their comeback attempt fell short thanks to Miami’s offense not slowing down one bit throughout the contest. The Heat had six players score in double figures, led by Jimmy Butler’s 27 points.
Butler struggled from the floor, shooting 5-of-16, but really did his damage from the free-throw line. On the day, Butler went 17-of-20 from the charity stripe to score the majority of his points. Elsewhere for the Heat, Bam Adebayo had a strong showing, going 7-of-11 on his field-goal attempts, finishing with 22 points. Goran Gragic added 24 points, while Tyler Herro chipped in with 20.
For the Pacers, Malcolm Brogdon had a sensational day, scoring a game-high 34 points. Unfortunately for him, his brilliant outing wasn’t enough to help his team steal a game from Miami, and Indiana is now in an 0-3 hole.
Come Monday night, Miami will look to put the finishing touches on the Pacers and get one step closer to reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. With Butler, Adebayo and others playing at such a strong level, there’s no doubt the Heat are looking like serious contenders to play in the NBA Finals.
Only time will tell if this happens, but Miami has sent quite the statement to the rest of the league in the first round.