76ers Rival Watch: Boston Celtics Stay Alive

After putting together back-to-back wins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Boston Celtics punched their ticket to the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals.

For the second-straight playoff run, the Celtics were set to face the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. This time around, the Celtics had the home-court advantage as they hosted Miami as a third-seed going against an eight-seed.

Seeding didn’t matter last season, as the Celtics defeated a top-seeded Miami team. This year, seeding hasn’t mattered much once again as the Heat picked up two-straight wins on the road in Boston before defending their home court down in South Beach for Game 3 as well.

Similar to the Denver Nuggets-Los Angeles Lakers series, the Heat were primed for a sweep in the Conference Finals heading into Tuesday night’s Game 4 matchup.

In the first quarter of action, Miami got off to an ideal start, as they went up 29-23. Before the first half concluded, the Celtics and the Heat traded 27 points. As a result, Miami held a six-point lead heading into halftime.

Boston needed to separate themselves in the second half, or else they were headed for the worst. Celtics star Jayson Tatum gave his team a big boost in the third quarter as he shot 6-8 from the field, scoring 14 points in 12 minutes.

Tatum helped the Celtics get out in front and lead by as many as 11 points. While Jimmy Butler knocked down five of his nine shots for 15 points in the third quarter, the Celtics outscored the Heat 38-23 before the final quarter of action.

There weren’t any miraculous comebacks on Tuesday night. Boston increased its lead to as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter. As the Heat struggled on the offensive end of the floor by shooting just 6-18 from the field and hitting on under 13 percent of their threes, Miami ran out of juice at the end of Game 4.

As a result, the Celtics snagged their first win of the series by coming out on top with a 116-99 victory in Miami. Jayson Tatum led the way with 33 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists in 42 minutes of action. Jaylen Brown was behind him with 17 points in 37 minutes.

The series will head back to Boston, with Game 5 taking place on Thursday night.