Some might say it’s best to just pack up and head back to your warm house if you lose the first two games of a series at home. We’ll see if that’s true in this series, but the Celtics are in a hole they can’t dig out of before heading to Miami for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals down 2-0.
Injury Reports: Boston Celtics and Miami Heat
The Celtics’ season is in risk. They let another fourth-quarter lead slip away in game two of the Eastern Conference finals, falling to the Miami Heat. They are now 0-2 in the series and will play Game 3 in Miami.
The Celtics led for the majority of the game, but the Heat kept it close and eventually surged ahead in the final period with clutch shooting and defense to steal a victory.
Two of the team’s stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, faltered in the fourth quarter. Boston was led by Tatum, who scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and Brown, who scored 16 points.
Brown struggled in Game 2 with more field goal attempts than points scored and little to no impact in other areas. Brown also scored less than 20 points for the second time in his last four postseason games. Despite this, he has averaged 23 points per game in his last ten playoff appearances.
Tatum, on the other hand, fell two assists short of a triple-double, but his efforts were unable to give Boston a home victory. Tatum’s 32.0 point and 10.0 rebound per game average through the first two games of the series demonstrates that he is not to blame for the Celtics’ 0-2 series deficit.
Danilo Gallinari (knee) will not play in Sunday’s Game 3 against the Heat.
There has been no word that the experienced forward has resumed basketball sessions, thus it appears like Gallinari will not play in this year’s postseason.
The Miami Heat are unstoppable. The 8th seed, which barely made the tournament after losing the first play-in game, is now only two wins away from reaching the NBA Finals. They defeated the Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, 111-105, and will now travel to Miami to complete the sweep.
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 27 points, eight rebounds, and six assists as the club recovered from an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit to win.
Butler had another terrific game, but this is becoming a pattern for him in the playoffs; he has scored at least 25 points in 12 of his previous 13 games.
Because of his outstanding play in all aspects of the game, the All-Star forward has emerged as one of the best players in the playoffs. During Miami’s long playoff run, he’s averaging 30.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game.
While Victor Oladipo’s knee injury has kept him out of the playoffs, it’s unclear whether Tyler Herro will be able to play for the Heat’s play-off this year.
