The Boston Celtics imposed their will on the Heat in Game 3 en route to a dominant 127-102 showing to even the series in Miami. But it was a different story in Game 3.
The Celtics had the momentum and had stolen home-court advantage from the Heat, but came out completely flat in to start the game. They fell behind by as much as 26 points in the first half and never led throughout the entire 48-minute contest.
Celtics head coach Ime Udoka was candid about his team's failure to match their opponent's intensity. The expectation was that the Heat would come out raring to steal back home-court advantage, and Boston simply let it happen without much fuss.
“All they talked about was upping their physicality, being embarrassed at home and that's what we spoke up about. Not being caught off guard, complacent, or content with getting a win at their place. Understanding how they're going to guard guys. Be physical. We didn't match that from the start,” lamented the Celtics coach.
“It looked like we were kind of wilting to their pressure and started complaining to the refs and took us out of the game from the start. Disappointing to come out flat in a conference final game.”
"It looked like we were kind of wilting to their pressure and started complaining to the refs and took us out of the game from the start."
Ime Udoka sounded OFF on the Celtics Game 3 performance vs the Heatpic.twitter.com/eOjWtnTxUl
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 22, 2022
The Celtics are now staring at a 1-2 deficit heading into Game 4 at home. While it's not an elimination game just yet, a loss would give the Heat a chance to close the series on their own home floor. It's as must-win as it gets in these playoffs.
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