Heat win Game 3, take 2-1 series lead (2024)

Follow Celtics vs Heat live.

The NBA Eastern Conference finals resumes Saturday with Game 3 between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat from TD Garden in Boston. The Celtics defeated the Heat 127-102 in Game 2 to tie the series 1-1.

Game 3 results

Heat 109, Celtics 103 (Miami leads series 2-1)

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(Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images)

Celtics end up with more turnovers than assists on a night when they somehow ended up outshooting the Heat in spite of losing the first quarter by 21 points. Boston kept finding a way, only to find themselves standing in their own over and over.

Phenomenal defense from Miami once again, with Victor Oladipo snatching this win away whenever the Celtics stars thought they could take him.

Heat win Game 3, 109-103.

Jaylen Brown has one of the worst 40-point games I can remember seeing in this building.

He pushed the pace all night and was red-hot shooting, but the unforced turnovers throughout the game from him and the rest of the team doomed them in. But he somehow has them down 6 still.

Jayson Tatum got stripped by Victor Oladipo and grabbed his upper back on his right side as the play went on. Tatum started to feel more significant pain and eventually had his head stabilized by trainers while they talked to him on the ground.

Tatum eventually was able to walk off and was seen flexing his arm over his head walking back to the locker room. Tatum may have just suffered a stinger if he is improving as rapidly as he appeared, but that was a scary moment for the Celtics.

And just like that, Tatum has returned for Boston.

Jayson Tatum has a bad shoulder/neck injury after getting stripped by Oladipo. He's kicking the floor in pain now.

He exited to the locker room.

Al Horford and Jaylen Brown are up to 33 minutes through three quarters. Jayson Tatum at 31.

The Celtics didn't use Derrick White or Daniel Theis in that third quarter. They kept their main guys on the court to come back, but couldn't cut into the deficit at all.

Give it up to Marcus Smart for showing his toughness in returning to the court.

That mentality has been a part of him since before high school in the Dallas area. (I remember the warrior he was at Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas.)

If there's any shot of him playing, he's making it a priority to be on the court.

Marcus Smart just returned to the court to a huge ovation. This place got so loud after the jumbotron showed him coming back from the locker room.

Smart, who needed to be helped off the court, has returned. And this place is nuts right now.

And now Marcus Smart rolled his ankle AND THEN Lowry fell on him. Two huge injuries, one on each side.

Can hear Smart screaming in pain on the TV broadcast.

There is a murmur in the crowd. Victor Oladipo and not Jimmy Butler is on the court for the Heat to start the third quarter.

TV just announced that Butler will not return. Butler was 3-of-8 for 8 points in the first half.

The Celtics looked as fired up as I've ever seen a team heading into the halftime locker room while down 15 points.

After a 12-2 run to close the second quarter, they clearly felt like they had given themselves life again. We'll see.

They will need to do a much better job on Bam Adebayo, who overpowered them for 16 points, six assists and four rebounds during the first half.

That actually feels pretty big for the Celtics to go in down 15 after trailing by 25 points late in the second quarter.

Grant Williams was just yelling at teammates heading into the locker room, fired up.

I'd be quick to say Boston is dead, as they trail Miami by 20-plus in the second quarter.

But I watched Dallas and Golden State on Friday night. The Mavs were up big early; they ended up losing.

Not saying a comeback will or will not happen tonight. Just saying expect the unexpected.

Some boos here for the Celtics, who are down 46-20.

Or maybe they're actually for Vardon after that line.

Bam Adebayo even hit a floater off the glass right after the buzzer just to run it in. Miami has dominated the physicality and hustle battle, while the Celtics are ice cold from deep and blowing their pick-and-roll coverages on Bam.

Miami has pushed in transition relentlessly so far and getting a shooter trailing on the wing wide-open 3s almost every possession, even off Celtics makes.

I wish I had a creative enough imagination to conceive of a way the Celtics could have played more poorly.