Miami Heat

Smart is out with a right ankle sprain while Herro is dealing with a left groin strain. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said that Herro would be "day-to-day" moving ...

"We don't care," Spoelstra said. "So we have enough guys that can step up." Spoelstra was asked whether a play midway through the second quarter, by Celtics guard Payton Pritchard, had anything to do with Butler's injury. "We just had to be responsible and take the decision out of his hands," Spoelstra said. "He really wants to be out there tonight. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said that Herro would be "day-to-day" moving forward.

Jayson Tatum will play in Game 4 between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics on Monday night. The Celtics trail the Heat 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals.

- SHOULD THE BUCKS MAKE A TRADE? On Sunday afternoon, the Milwaukee Bucks lost Game 7 to the Boston Celtics, which officially ends their 2021-22 NBA season in the second-round. The Heat won the first game of the series at home, and then the Celtics crushed them by 25-points in Game 2. The Celtics trail the Heat 2-1 in the series, so Monday night is essentially a must win game.

The Miami Heat will be short-handed, without Tyler Herro and perhaps Jimmy Butler, against the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

In fact, it wouldn’t entirely be surprising if the Heat followed suit and elected to sit Jimmy as well. Winning in Boston, specifically in Game 4, was already going to be a tall task for the Heat. Even if they were completely healthy. That means, if the Heat is going to take a 3-1 series lead over Boston, they’re going to have to do it short-handed.

Jayson Tatum recorded 31 points, eight rebounds and five assists as the Boston Celtics a beat the Miami Heat in Game 4 on Monday night.

Boston led 76-52 entering the final stanza and remained comfortably ahead throughout the period. Boston led 57-33 at the break behind 24 points from Tatum, who tallied just 10 on 3-of-14 shooting in Game 3. Boston came out strong and led by 17 before Miami made its first field goal. The Celtics owned a 60-39 rebounding edge. Article content Article content

Got a prediction for how the next three games play out? Jimmy the Greek couldn't handicap this. The weather is more predictable. In Game 1, Miami, behind a 39– ...

In Game 5, the Celtics were more careful. Robert Williams limped off the floor in the third quarter. In Game 4, Boston kicked the ball around. They committed three turnovers in the first half. That’s the lowest output by any team in a playoff game in the last quarter century. The Heat finished the game shooting 33.3% from the floor and 38.9% from three. He chipped in a steal. He had three points in Game 1, a monster performance when compared to the goose egg he put up in 14 minutes in Game 2. He scored 105 points in three games after losses to Milwaukee last round. In Game 2, Boston led by as many as 34 before settling for a 25-point win. He took a charge. In Game 1, Miami, behind a 39–14 third quarter, won by 11.

Jayson Tatum had a pain in the neck after Game 3 instead of being one to the Miami Heat. After a subpar performance, the host Boston Celtics badly need ...

Celtics: Outrebounded Miami 20-8 in the first quarter. Starting in place of Smart, White scored the game's first seven points as Boston took an 8-0 lead. Each game in this series has featured a lead of at least 20 points, and none has been close down the stretch. The Heat didn't get their first points until Adebayo's free throw at the 7:56 mark. Victor Oladipo led the Heat with 23 points. Heat: Shot 33% (30 of 90). ... Finished with 64 bench points. It quickly grew to 18-1, with Miami misfiring on its first 14 shots. We never could get any kind of grip on the game.'' They all sat out the fourth quarter. Can't always just flip the mindset when we come off a loss and get a little desperate.'' Miami missed 15 of its first 16 shots as this bizarre series produced another game that was all but over after 12 minutes. ''Just got to muster that same energy when we came off a win as well as a loss,'' Udoka said.

Game 5 is Wednesday in Miami. Payton Pritchard had 14 points for the Celtics. Derrick White added 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Robert Williams ...

Celtics: Outrebounded Miami 20-8 in the first quarter. Starting in place of Smart, White scored the game's first seven points as Boston took an 8-0 lead. The Heat didn’t get their first points until Adebayo’s free throw at the 7:56 mark. Each game in this series has featured a lead of at least 20 points, and none has been close down the stretch. Victor Oladipo led the Heat with 23 points. Heat: Shot 33% (30 of 90). ... Finished with 64 bench points. “Guys being out, guys playing half, guys playing 20 minutes in the game, just depends. It quickly grew to 18-1, with Miami misfiring on its first 14 shots. They all sat out the fourth quarter. Can’t always just flip the mindset when we come off a loss and get a little desperate.” “Just got to muster that same energy when we came off a win as well as a loss,” Udoka said. Miami missed 15 of its first 16 shots as this bizarre series produced another game that was all but over after 12 minutes.

The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat have a lot of key players on their injury reports for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

- SHOULD THE BUCKS MAKE A TRADE? On Sunday afternoon, the Milwaukee Bucks lost Game 7 to the Boston Celtics, which officially ends their 2021-22 NBA season in the second-round. Last season, they won the NBA Championship, and they will now enter an offseason where they can look to improve the roster to get back to the NBA Finals.CLICK HERE. They had beat the Celtics in the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals, but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.

The Miami Heat were defeated in Boston in Game 4 of the ECF. The offense failed them big time, however, they had major help in their ineptitude.

The Boston Celtics started off more engaged, ready to take it to the Miami Heat, and that’s exactly what they did. That tally was 38 to 14 in Boston’s favor. With that being the 18 points already, that inevitably means that, neither, P.J. Tucker nor Max Strus scored. Jimmy Butler would only score 6 points. The Miami Heat were defeated in Boston in Game 4 of the ECF. The offense failed them big time, however, they had major help in their ineptitude. The Miami Heat should have come out juiced up for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. With the chance to take a firm grasp on the series and go up 3-1, a lead that would all but promise victory over the Celtics, the Miami Heat came out to play one of their worst games of the season.

Will the Heat prevail in Game 4 without Tyler Herro? Up Next. 1:15. Stephen A. looking for consistency from Jayson Tatum.

Wojnarowski reports the same level of optimism does not exist for guard Marcus Smart's chances of playing after he suffered an ankle sprain during Game 3. There is optimism centre Robert Williams returns to the Boston Celtics' lineup Monday night against the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, reports ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. There is optimism centre Robert Williams returns to the Boston Celtics' lineup Monday night against the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, reports ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 31 points as the Boston Celtics rolled to a Game 4 win over the Miami Heat to even up their NBA playoff series.

So taking care of the ball was huge, obviously, making them score in the half court as opposed to getting the run-outs that we aided them with last game." "I think we have to be more of a forceful-type team, getting into the paint, not shying away from contact and playing from the inside out. After Butler, the other four Heat starters were 0-for-12 until Kyle Lowry and Adebayo made buckets in the final 2:13 of the half. His aggressive attack drew fouls, and he went 12-for-14 in the first two quarters. That is not a commentary on the officiating. Game 5 is Wednesday in Miami (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Players are bouncing in and out of lineups, and for the past six quarters, the offense has been a disaster, Joe Vardon writes.

And because they won Game 3 on Saturday, taking a 2-1 lead in the series and regaining home-court advantage, they held Herro out in Game 4, knowing there simply wasn’t the same urgency to win this one. And how healthy can most of their players be in the NBA Finals? Harkening to the first round, the Heat held a 3-1 lead over the Atlanta Hawks and sat Butler — in a closeout game! “This is nothing about a matter of want,” Spoelstra said, refusing to blame a miserable game Monday on injuries. In the second round, Dewayne Dedmon missed a game for what the Heat called a head cold. Herro, ruled out for Game 4, has already said he should be able to play in Game 5. If they are upright and otherwise able, there is nothing a coach can do or say to stop them. It’s the end of a long season, and every player on the team has something that doesn’t quite feel right. Lowry did play a couple of games last series, but he sat games 5 and 6, then games 1 and 2 of this series. It’s the Eastern Conference finals, and four of Miami’s top players are breaking down. Herro may not have been able to rescue them, but missing Herro and a healthy Butler is costing Miami upward of 40 points. We can do it in the mud.

The Miami Heat got destroyed in Boston in Game 4 on Monday night. Their offense let them down, but the disparity in officiating is disturbing too.

That just didn’t seem to be the case in, either, Game 3 or 4, though Miami Heat were able to pull Game 3 out. There is a major discrepancy in the way that this thing is being officiated. This might not be the answer either, but what it points to is this. The part that really sticks out is the part about selling it more. And all of that can be true. All of that is true.

Kyle Lowry will warm up with the intent to play in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics.

- SHOULD THE BUCKS MAKE A TRADE? On Sunday afternoon, the Milwaukee Bucks lost Game 7 to the Boston Celtics, which officially ends their 2021-22 NBA season in the second-round. Heat's tweet: " #MIAvsBOS INJURY UPDATE: Tyler Herro (groin) has been ruled out of tonight’s Game 4 vs the Celtics. Jimmy Butler (knee), Kyle Lowry (hamstring), Max Strus (hamstring), Gabe Vincent (hamstring) & P.J. Tucker (knee) will all warm up with the intent to play." The Miami Heat are once again in Boston to take on the Celtics for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday night, and for the game they have some good news going into the evening.

Boston and Miami keep trading blowout wins in their playoff series.

He averaged eight free throws a game in the regular season, among the best in the league. In Game 3 against the Bucks, Tatum had only 10 points and shot 4 of 19 from the field. It was the exact kind of energy that Boston sorely missed in the first half of Game 3. He was aggressive in attacking the basket, getting to the line 16 times, more than any other game in this playoff run. The Celtics have not lost two games in a row the entire postseason. In large part, this was because of the presence of Celtics center Robert Williams III, who missed Game 3 because of knee soreness. They also won in spite of a poor game from guard Jaylen Brown, who shot 5 for 20 from the field for 12 points. Heat center Bam Adebayo, who finally broke out for 31 points in Game 3, reverted to being tentative, shooting the ball only twice in the first half. Amazingly, the last time there was a lead change was in Game 2, in which the Celtics led by as many as 34. Most of the starters were out of the game for good by early in the final quarter. In Game 3 on Saturday night, the Heat went up by 26 points in the first half. It hasn’t been a question of being home or away, since each team has won a game on the road.

The Boston Celtics and seed Miami Heat face off on Wednesday at FTX Arena in Miami in Game 5 of their NBA Playoffs series.

Jessie Carter writes: "With the help of their fans, the Miami Heat look capable of defeating almost any team in the world. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. More: Boston Celtics vs. More: Boston Celtics vs. Boston Celtics vs.

The Boston Celtics bounced back in a huge way as they pounded the Miami Heat in Game 4 to set up a pivotal Game 5 in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Heading into a pivotal Game 5, there is plenty on the line for both teams. The Celtics cruised to a 20-point victory to tie the Eastern Conference Finals at 2-2. For the Celtics, some of that same narrative could follow should they lose to the Heat. This Boston core has gotten close time and time again.

“Sometimes when you have two really competitive teams, it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be a one-point game,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It means ...

We shouldn’t have to get punched in the mouth to respond.” The Heat said they were embarrassed on their home court, and Game 3 was payback; they zoomed out to a 26-point lead, first-half lead. The Celtics led by 13 points early before Miami outscored them 39-14 in the third quarter to take took the lead for good. The Celtics led by as many as 32 in the third quarter — a big gap, even for a series that has been full of them. “I think human nature plays a part in, when you win a game, you can relax a little bit,” said Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who had 31 points in Game 4 after scoring 10 on 3-for-14 shooting the previous game. But the individual games have been anything but.

Former NBA players Kendrick Perkins and J.J. Redick tried to break down what happened to the Miami Heat in their Game 4 loss against the Boston Celtics on ...

CLICK HERE CLICK HERE CLICK HERE

The Miami Heat were blown out by the Boston Celtics in Game 4, 102-82. Here are some major takeaways: - Jayson Tatum comes through.

The starting five, who are averaging 69 points in the postseason, scored just 18 points. Butler, who is averaging a career-best 26 points in the postseason, was limited to just six points, all of them coming in the first half. Their bench has averaged 36 points in the playoffs but in Game 4, they scored a combined 64 points, 26 of them coming from Duncan Robinson and Caleb Martin.

4. Al Horford played about as dominant of a five-point game as you'll ever see. He, along with Rob Williams, completely owned the paint for Boston. The two ...

He waited way too long in what was largely a 20-25-point game in the fourth quarter to pull the regulars. He just has to wait for Al Horford and Derrick White to cut and suck in the weakside defenders. But for that to happen, the shooters have to hit shots. He’s often responsible for the Celtics getting off to good starts. 7. For the Celtics offense to function at it’s best, they have to be a drive-and-kick team. Jimmy Butler has done a pretty job of getting his body into the Celtics defenders to create space on drives or to draw a foul. It was a tour de force for the Celtics veteran leader. 6. A big part of the defensive dominance was Rob Williams helping Al Horford control the paint. Now, the Celtics have a plethora of players who can work the middle or a zone. This is outstanding play design to open the second half. Going right at Strus is becoming a recurring theme for the Celtics the deeper this series goes: He’s probably the best Boston player about pushing pace and he does so here before throwing the alley-oop to Jayson Tatum:

Jayson Tatum scored 31 points and the Boston Celtics pounded the Miami Heat early, jumping out to a 26-4 lead and cruising to a 102-82 victory.

The Celtics took a 29-11 lead into the second quarter and led 57-33 at the half. Butler was in the starting lineup after missing the second half of Game 3 with swelling in his right knee. Miami missed 15 of their first 16 shots in the second straight game that was all but over after 12 minutes.

Your Miami HEAT announced today that it will host a White Hot HEAT Road Rally presented by Bacardi at the FTX Arena for Game 6 of the 2022 Eastern ...

The White Hot HEAT Road Rally will be mobile-only entry. Select concession stands as well as select locations of The Miami HEAT Store will be open for business. HEAT fans wishing to attend the White Hot HEAT Road Rally will be required to purchase General Admission tickets for $5.00 apiece. Tickets for the Road Rally will not be available at the FTX Arena Box Office. Parking will be available in the FTX Arena’s P2 parking garage for $5.00 per car and will be available on a first come, first served basis. Your Miami HEAT announced today that it will host a White Hot HEAT Road Rally presented by Bacardi at the FTX Arena for Game 6 of the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals. The White Hot HEAT Road Rally is the official watch party for HEAT playoff road games.

In Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics attempted 40 more free throws than the Heat. What's behind that gap? Also, a Herro injury ...

The issue for the Heat is a foul was called on just 2.4 percent of its drives in the last two games compared to the Celtics drawing a foul on 8.2 percent of its drives during that span. The good news for Miami is that Butler is not on the injury report after he missed the second half of Game 3 on Saturday because of right knee inflammation. “[We have to] figure out the way they are calling the game and adjust to that,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said following Game 4. The Celtics outscored the Heat 23-12 at the foul line in Game 3 on Saturday, but Miami was able to overcome it to win 109-103 by attempting 22 more field goals with the help of 24 Boston turnovers. Playing a more aggressive offensive style looks to be the obvious solution to the Heat’s lack of free throws. The Celtics scored 35 more points and drew 40 more free throws than the Heat in those two games.

As the Miami Heat got trampled in Game 3 of the NBA ECF, Bam Adebayo wasn't the same dude from Game 3. This is one of his only counters to their approach.

As Bam is among his most effective, offensively, when he can put his defender in the faceup triple threat position, the Celtics wouldn’t allow him to get comfortable there last night. The Miami Heat are coming off one of their worst performances ever. This isn’t about one guy, to be clear.

Boston Celtics vs. Miami HEAT Wednesday, May 25 @ 8:30 PM Series Record: 2-2.

A huge portion of the game was decided by the HEAT winning the turnover battle, 23-8, and taking 22 more shots than their opponent, but this was a battle of the mind more than anything. In other words, precisely because the defense is so good and both teams have some inherent struggles in the halfcourt, we’re more likely than usual to see one run get extended as the other side is pushed more and more onto their heels. The HEAT ramped up the physicality on defense, found just enough shotmaking – Max Strus and Adebayo each hit a massive jumper after Boston closed to within one – and responded to one momentum-building one after another. Instead what we’re getting is a series where both defenses have indeed been great, but each game has seen one team lead by at least 20 – Boston’s near-comeback in Game 3 was the only real pushback we’ve seen from a big hole – because as soon as one defense gets rolling then the other team starts to struggle even more having to attack in the halfcourt, and the more that team misses the more the other side can try to push the pace. And in the end, that opening salvo offered a large enough lead to put Miami up 2-1 in the series. In winning the opening period, 39-18, the HEAT had just about as immaculate a start to a postseason game as you can possibly have. With Kyle Lowry back, his effect on the pace of the offense, both in the open floor and in the halfcourt, was immediately evident as he pushed into a trail three for Max Strus and followed that up a few possessions later with his traditional hit-ahead pass to Jimmy Butler. But apart from Lowry and some hot three-point shooting, the real boost to the offense was Bam Adebayo scoring about as well as he has ever scored. Both teams are going to come out of this one with plenty to like – Boston wound up winning three of the four quarters – and if you came into this game expecting a long series there wasn’t much on hand to dissuade you of that notion. And as usual – after Boston made a run with Butler off the court – he was there to bring it home down the stretch as he hunted the Payton Pritchard matchup relentlessly, holding the Celtics off with free-throws and jumpers. Boston was up by as much as they were up – 34 at the largest lead, but consistently over after their major runs – because they were hitting just about everything. Just as quick as Game 1 turned after the break when the HEAT rediscovered their own identity playing physical and precise defense and letting that effort power their offense, this time Boston was the team finding itself. He wasn’t alone in doing so, but there’s a level of pressure that Butler can apply to your offense that makes every pass carry just a little more inherent risk to it – an effect that played a major role as the HEAT’s defense fed their offense over and over and over again in the third quarter.

There have been times in this bizarro series where it has looked like the Miami HEAT were playing against themselves. One dynamic, super-switchy team going ...

Those are shots they hit against Milwaukee in the past and against Philadelphia in the second round, and they are shots they can hit again, with Victor Oladipo adding a nice boost in that department in Game 4. “If you turn the ball over, it feels like it’s three turnovers just because possessions are cut short and every possession has so much importance in the playoffs. Their three attempts at the rim in the first half were the second fewest of the season. In maintaining their composure and not feeding the mistakes into Miami’s transition – stops beget scores beget stops all over again, just like the last 10 minutes of MEN – while succumbing to Miami’s never-ending pressure, the Celtics were upping their chances on both ends of the court. The reality here is that despite four fairly lopsided games – though we can’t act like Miami almost losing their big lead in Game 3 was a non-issue given how they played with advantages at times this season – Boston likely has the greater margin for error at this point. Also in that above image you’ll notice how Williams is cheating off of P.J. Tucker to seal off the rim. Midway through the second quarter Butler ran another pick-and-roll with similar spacing, Horford cheating off of Tucker, and he tried to deliver the ball to Tucker. Except the pass was low and away, and by the time Tucker was able to mechanically recover and threaten to launch, the closeout was already right on top of him. In Game 4, Horford pushed back, immediately pressuring Adebayo out to the three-point line – just as the HEAT did to Embiid – to stall out the offense. The first thing you’ll notice is that Horford is in drop coverage. “We just kind of settled in and just took the first available contested shot,” Erik Spoelstra said. You can’t really put it any other way other than Robert Williams, in the limited time he’s been able to play with his knee injury, has posed a problem. If they’re looking in the mirror, the image they see only resembles their own.

It's safe to say that the Miami Heat underperformed in Monday's Game 4 against the Boston Celtics. The Celtics are undefeated in the playoffs this year ...

CLICK HERE CLICK HERE Max Strus and P.J. Tucker had zero points the entire game, and Jimmy Butler had his second consecutive single-digit performance. I’m talking about culture, the most overused word in sports. The return of Robert Williams III in Game 4 gave Boston the defensive edge to hold the Heat to 82 points. The Celtics are undefeated in the playoffs this year following a loss.