BSJ EAST GAME 3 FINAL: Heat 109, Celtics 103 - Brown (40 points) spirits Boston's comeback that comes up short

Well, the good news for the Celtics is they couldn't play a worse first quarter and a half, and still found themselves down by a point with 2:40 left.

The problem was, the ills that plagued Boston — mainly turnovers — early reared its ugly head as consecutive turnovers allowed the Heat to stretch the lead again, and this time for good.

Boston, trailing the series 2-1 and with home-court advantage evaporated, now finds itself in a must-win situation in Game 4 on Monday in a series that is starting to look a lot like the Bucks series. Falling behind 3-1 heading back to Miami is not an option for the Celtics.

The bigger immediate concerns for both teams could be injuries.

Heat star Jimmy Butler did not return after halftime with knee inflammation. Marcus Smart (ankle) and Jayson Tatum (right shoulder) left the floor but returned to play. Their injuries could worsen once the game wears off. 

Boston had 24 turnovers in the game, with Tatum having a game-high six, that lead to 33 Miami points.

Jaylen Brown basically put the team on his back and his 40 points on 14 of 20 shooting nearly brought the team back from a 26-point, first-half deficit. 

Bam Adebayo had a team-high 29 points on 14 of 21 shooting as the Celtics obviously missed Robert Williams in the middle.

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ROUND 3, GAME 3 
(1) Miami Heat vs. (2) Boston Celtics
TD Garden
8:30 PM - ABC (Really, it’s 8:45)

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Daniel Theis 

Miami: Kyle Lowry, Max Strus, Jimmy Butler, PJ Tucker, Bam Adebayo

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- UPDATE: Robert Williams is officially out. 

The lingering left knee issues continue. 

"I'd say the bone bruise ... But just in general, you know, he's seven weeks post-op right now and two weeks since the bone bruise happened and that kind of brought it back up," Ime Udoka said before the game. "Obviously he had to miss some games due to that, and now with the every-other-day games, he's not getting the rest he initially got with those three-day breaks. So some natural soreness and swelling this soon after surgery would occur, but taking that hit didn't help it for sure."

Theis will start.

"We like our size always and we've done that well this year," Udoka said. "Kind of puts Grant back in his role, even though he's done both this year, as well. And matchup-wise and scheme and schematically, what we want to do and the way we want to start, Daniel benefits us, and we let Al kind of keep his role that he would with Rob."

- Kyle Lowry and PJ Tucker are likely going to play 

Lowry is a pace-setter and an irritant. If he’s 100% he can change the dynamic of this series. Eril Spoelstra played coy with his answer about Lowry and Tucker. 

"I haven't talked to the trainers," he said. "We'll follow up. I think we said at about 8:00, I would turn in my card. So I'm going to really try to stay true to that."

- Marcus Smart (first team) and Robert Williams (second team) have been named to the NBA All-Defensive teams.

- Boston is favored by 6. 

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. Lowry’s impact: Having Lowry at full strength changes things in this series, but that also means him playing like he’s at full strength. If he’s playing at his best, then he’s another shot maker, defender, and transition creator for the Heat. He’ll help Miami get stops and then he’ll kick it ahead for layups. He’s a big key to their offense. 

2. Early 3-pointers: Boston hit 50% of their 3-pointers in Game 2 and Miami’s defense likes to give up 3-pointers, so I can see a repeat of the Milwaukee series where Boston is feeling themselves and taking the first available quick 3-pointer. 

The power of Boston’s offense is in the ball movement. Quick 3-pointers will pave the road to giving up home court in a hurry.

3. Third quarter lull: Boston’s third quarters have ranged from ugh to awful, so it’d be nice to see the team come out of the half like it had in the past with some added energy and make a run no matter what the situation. 

I admit that it could be a little tough to do that when you’re going up against Miami and Erik Spoelstra. He’s making adjustments too so it’s not just one team on the floor. But it’s up to Boston to quickly understand what that adjustment is and react to it more quickly. 

A LITTLE MORE

Relive the glory of the Game 2 win with the latest Locked On Celtics podcast, recorded from FTX Arena Thursday night. 

GAME THREAD

Stick around for more comments below as the game goes on. Feel free to add your two cents in the comments.