In the first round, not a single commentator in the United States gave Miami a chance against Milwaukee, but the Heat surprised everyone, knocked out the favorite for the championship and skipped to the second round. There too, many saw them as underdogs against New York, which was superior in the regular season, and again – to Jimmy Butler and his players. This amazing journey was supposed to end in the Eastern Conference finals, but tonight (between Friday and Saturday) Erik Spoelstra’s players once again proved that they should not, simply should not be eulogized, they went 0:2 and took a huge step towards the NBA finals.
Butler was once again on top of everyone, with a typical Money Time performance that set up a huge 105:111 in Boston. A successful third quarter by the Celtics actually brought them to 77:89 going into the last quarter, but there, not for the first time this season, the host froze. Jayson Tatum, who was wonderful earlier, finished 0-for-3 from the field and three turnovers in money time, Jaylen Brown added 1-for-5 from the field in the final quarter, and Miami said thanks with 22:36 in the final 12 minutes, completing another big comeback .
In a situation of 87:96 for the host, Butler squeezed Wessel and fouled Grant Williams, who made the mistake of starting a trash-talk with the Miami star. Butler took it personally, and while the Celtics stars were collapsing on the other end, he kept his cool as usual and closed the deal.
Butler finished with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks, and received great help from his friends – Caleb Martin was wonderful with 25 points off the bench, Bam Adebayo added 22 points, 17 rebounds and 9 assists and Duncan Robinson shone with 15 points On the other hand, Tatum reached 34, 13 rebounds and 8 assists, Brown added 16 with terrible percentages (7 of 23 from the field). The Celtics shot only 28 percent from beyond the arc (10 of 35) and dug themselves a big hole. Now the series moves to Miami – the third game will be held on Sunday.
