Three down. One more to go.
The Miami Heat are one win away from reaching the Eastern Conference Semifinals. After being down by 20 points at the half, the Indiana Pacers clawed their way back into Game 3 and cut the lead down to two on multiple occasions. Despite the Pacers’ strong push, Miami still kept the lead to win the game. They’ll try to finish off the Pacers on Monday.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s Heat win over the Pacers.
Jimmy’s aggression
It wasn’t an efficient shooting night for Jimmy Butler, who shot five of 16 from the field, but he did find other ways to impact the game. Butler was relentless attacking the basket and drawing a lot of fouls. When Miami needed relief points, Butler was able to provide it with his aggression. He had 20 free throw attempts by the end of the night.
https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1297296019865075712
Butler finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a block.
Adebayo bounces back strong
After struggling in Game 2, Bam Adebayo had a better game offensively in Game 3. He was very aggressive from the start. He also found his teammates on a couple of dive cuts to the basket and was relentless on the boards late in the game. His two offensive boards in the waning minutes were vital to the Heat’s victory.
Adebayo finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and a steal.
The “turd quarter” returns
The Miami Heat lead the league in most blown leads with 16 losses. The third quarter (or turd quarter, as Heat fans call it) has played a huge role in that. After leading by 20 points at halftime, Miami almost blew another huge lead. In the third quarter, the Pacers scored 34 points against the Heat.
Malcolm Brogdon kept exploiting the Heat’s weakness at the point of attack. Miami didn’t do a good job of being physical with Myles Turner, who kept getting offensive rebounds. Additionally, Miami’s offense was stagnant in the period. However, Miami still kept the lead the rest of the way.
Still a rookie?
The NBA playoffs are here and the intensity has risen. But that hasn’t fazed Miami Heat rookie guard Tyler Herro so far. He continued to look unfazed by the moment. Herro has looked more like a veteran than a rookie in these playoffs. Just look below as he calmly sinks in the jumper as the shot clock expires.
https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1297286497549328390
Herro finished the night with 20 points.
Next up: Game 4 on Monday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
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