The Boston Celtics cut the Miami Heat's series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals to 2-1 with a crucial 101-91 victory in game 3, despite coming off an exhausting and heartbreaking overtime loss to the Heat in game 2. Boston withstood a first quarter offensive onslaught by Lebron James who had 16 points in the opening quarter and finished the game 34 points on 16-26 shooting. After allowing the Heat to score several easy baskets in transition off of made field goals by the Celtics, Boston clamped down defensively, allowing the Heat to score only 35 points in the two subsequent quarters and building a 22 point lead. Kevin Garnett scored 24 points and added 11 rebounds and helped the Celtics impose their will on the Heat in the paint. Garnett showed off his legendary intensity in the second quarter after a hard foul in which he painfully landed on his back, by doing pushups on his knuckles.
Boston out rebounded Miami 44-32 despite being the worst rebounding team in the NBA in the regular season. Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo set the tone for the Celtics offensively scoring 23 and 21 points respectively. Rondo, who added 10 assists, did a tremendous job dictating the pace of the game, setting up teammates like Marquis Daniels who gave the Celtics a boost off the bench, and craftily making shots, including a beautiful layup off of his signature fake-behind the back pass.
The Heat made a comeback in the 4th quarter, cutting a 24 point deficit down to 8, while playing a small lineup featuring Lebron James at center. Ultimately the Celtics were able to close out the game, boosting their confidence and setting up highly anticipated game 4 Sunday night.
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