The Heat took down the Celtics in Game 3 to take a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals thanks to Gabe Vincent, three-point shooting and more.
The Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics, 128-102, in Game 3. With a 3-0 lead heading into the Game 4, this series is basically over.
From the get-go, this was a Miami win. The Heat took a huge lead and never really looked back. The Celtics were able to keep it at least somewhat reasonable looking in the first quarter and they made a bit of a run midway in the second quarter to cut the lead down but Miami withstood it for the win.
Midway through the second quarter, things got very out of hand with Miami way out of front. At times, it seemed like the Celtics would at least cut the deficit to within 20 but the Heat were always able to keep the game extremely out of reach.
3 reasons the Heat dominated Game 3 over the Celtics
Three-point shooting
The three point shooting in this game from the Heat was amazing. Miami shot a clean 54 percent with 57 points from the three-point line alone. The Celtics did not have 57 points total for the entire second half.
This was an offensive explosion from the Heat. Gabe Vincent was very nice from the floor.
Duncan Robinson shot 74 percent from three. It was really impressive to see Robinson fully shine after the ups and downs his career has faced over the last couple of years due to the fact that he is only a three-point specialist. He ended up playing 23 minutes and was very solid in those minutes, running off-ball screens on his way to three-pointers.
Caleb Martin went 57 percent from three, making four of his seven three-point attempts. His offense was a lot more ball creator heavy in this game than Robinson (as it should be and as it has been) but it was very nice to see this yet again from Martin. Martin has been putting together his best playoff series of his short career and making himself a lot of money (assuming he declines his player option).
Gabe Vincent
Gabe Vincent had the best offensive performance in this game. Coming into Sunday, it would be a bit weird to see that written. Still, a 29-point game on 71 percent shooting from the floor will land you that.
Jimmy Butler was able to create offense but Vincent was so deadly that it is hard not to put him here.
He ended up making six three-pointers on 66 percent shooting. This was a career-high. Vincent deserves his flowers for having the hot hand. Still, it should be noted that the Heat have a role player set up for success every game.
This really speaks to the culture that Butler has created in Miami. Butler is able to attract the defense’s attention and he is able to kick it out to the role player who is hot that night. It was Vincent’s night.
Terrible performances from the Celtics best two players
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were extremely bad in this game as they combined for less than 30 points. That is not a winning recipe for Boston. Combined these two players shot a horrible 34 percent from the floor. Their play in Game 3 was very similar to their play in the fourth quarter of Game 2.
Both players took a combined 14 threes and only made one. It was just an awful performance. In a must win game, the two All-NBA players just didn’t have it.
The NBA finals start on Jun. 1. The Nuggets and Heat will be playing each other and that will be fun to watch.