Celtics stage up protection in Recreation 3 win over Warmth: 'We performed more durable' – Celtics Weblog

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Boston held Miami to only 84 factors in Recreation 3.
The Miami Warmth made historical past of their Game 2 win over the Boston Celtics. They poured in 23 three-pointers, falling simply two in need of the NBA file for many made in a playoff recreation.
A mixture of outlandish shot-making and poor Celtics protection contributed to the feat, however Boston’s lackluster exhibiting stood out most. They gave Miami far an excessive amount of house to shoot, and in the long run, gamers who usually aren’t an enormous menace from outdoors handed the Celtics a loss at TD Backyard.
Main as much as Recreation 3 on Saturday, the Celtics have been calm. There was no sense of panic. There have been no exaggerations. “There’s no purpose for us to overreact,” Kristaps Porzingis stated at follow on Thursday.
Boston blew the doorways off of Miami in Recreation 3. They earned a 20-point win, holding the Warmth to only 84 factors within the course of. It was an unbelievable defensive exhibiting that helped the Celtics get again to their Recreation 1 success.
However Joe Mazzulla doesn’t just like the phrase changes.
“Yeah, I imply, that phrase, it’s simply such a set off phrase round this time of yr,” Mazzulla stated post-game. “We didn’t make too many changes. We performed a little bit bit tougher. We performed more durable. We dictated the physicality and the tempo of the sport.
“And it’s the easy issues that you need to do underneath a better stage of stress, a better stage of adversity. So, I believed our guys did an incredible job of dictating that at present.”
The Celtics put their all into each defensive resolution they made on Saturday.
If their Recreation 2 selection was a weak closeout on a mean three-point shooter, they have been sprinting to the road in Recreation 3. If their Recreation 2 selection was a sluggish path over a Bam Adebayo display screen, they have been nearly connected to Tyler Herro in Recreation 3.
“Simply play tougher,” Mazzulla stated of Boston’s improved protection on Herro. “Be extra linked. Be extra bodily.”
By the definition of the phrase, the Celtics made changes. However they weren’t main adjustments of their defensive philosophy. As a substitute, they merely attacked their assignments with a better goal. And that was the distinction.
“Giving up offensive rebounds, closeouts—we may have had some higher closeouts in Recreation 2,” Jayson Tatum stated. “We form of gave them some walk-up threes and issues like that. Simply higher at contesting. It was form of an effort factor.”
Proper from the beginning, the Celtics have been locked in on protection. The Warmth solely managed to scrape collectively 12 first-quarter factors. In 1 / 4 the place the Celtics scored simply 21, they wanted the defensive exhibiting they put collectively.
After trying 43 photographs from past the arc on Wednesday, the Warmth solely took 28 in Recreation 3 — from 23 made threes to only 9. A 42-point distinction between the 2 video games.
Boston trusted the mathematics, however solely within the sense that they made a concerted effort to enhance their shot profile whereas concurrently worsening Miami’s.
The mathematics involving permitting sure gamers room to shoot was thrown out the window.
“It was a little bit little bit of that. No dare photographs. Respecting these guys’ capabilities,” Jaylen Brown stated. “They’re NBA gamers, and so they could make photographs on any given night time. So, treating them accordingly, closing out, simply making them uncomfortable. After which on the opposite aspect, simply executing the offense.”
Jrue Vacation didn’t try a shot within the first half, but he was a team-high +23 in that point. Payton Pritchard battled over each choose he was thrown into. Kristaps Porzingis secured the paint towards Adebayo, who dominated the mid-range within the fourth quarter of Recreation 2.
Everybody up and down the roster made it their mission to stage up the protection.
“Particular person protection. Group protection,” Mazzulla stated. “I believed Jrue was nice. I don’t know when he acquired his first shot, however I believed he dictated the defensive tempo of the sport. I believed Tatum answered the decision defensively. I believed KP and Al did an incredible job.
“I believed everybody- I believed our bench got here in and actually pushed the tempo on each ends of the ground. So, simply linked, robust, bodily, particular person protection. Group protection.”
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