By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Bam Adebayo scored 31 points with 10 rebounds, filling a void left by injured All-Star Jimmy Butler and leading Miami to a 109-103 road win in Boston for a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Adebayo also had six assists and four of the Heat’s franchise postseason record 19 steals.
“He did his version of what Jimmy does: ‘Do what’s necessary for the game,'” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Tonight we needed the scoring and we needed that offensive punch early on”.
The Celtics never led, but they cut a 62-37 deficit to one point, 93-92, with 2:40 to play on a 3-pointer from Jaylen Brown, who finished with 40 points.
Max Strus answered with a three and then Adebayo bounced off defender Al Horford and made a basket at the shot clock buzzer to give Miami a six-point cushion.
In a hard-fought game that saw Butler leave with a knee injury, Kyle Lowry came back from a four-game absence and scored 11 with six assists for the Heat. P.J. Tucker scored 17 for Miami.
Horford scored 20 points with 14 rebounds, and Smart 16. Tatum had 10 points on 3/14 FG. He also had six turnovers, and Brown committed seven of Boston’s 2022 playoff-high 24 turnovers. German big man Daniel Theis started the game but only played 11 minutes, scoring one point and grabbing three rebounds.