Miami Heat at Boston Celtics
After a 25 point loss in Game 2, the Heat came out firing in Game 3 with a 39-18 first quarter. Bam Adebayo was unstoppable with 31 pts and it was easily his best performance of this year's playoffs. With Robert Williams struggling with a knee injury, Bam should continue to dominate until the Celtics D adjusts. The Heat also got Lowry back from a hamstring and he played 29 minutes / picked up 4 steals. Probably the only concern out of the loss was a knee injury to Jimmy Butler just before half-time. He'll be a game-time decision for Game 4. However, Oladipo stepped up when Butler went down as he picked up 4 steals and that'll give Miami confidence in their bench rotations if Butler can't play. Strus, Vincent and Lowry are also questionable for Tuesday's game but they'll all play.
Boston were disappointing in Game 3 and the 6 point margin doesn't reflect the Heat's dominance. Turnovers were the major difference between the two sides as Boston committed 23 and were sloppy with the ball. Tatum had a rough game with just 10 pts and 6 turnovers. He struggled to shake Tucker's defence and he also injured his shoulder. However, he returned moments later and it doesn't seem to be too serious. Marcus Smart also looked to have re-injured his ankle but also made a successful return to the game and finished with 16 pts / 7 assists. Probably the main bright spot of the loss was the shooting form of Jaylen Brown. He easily led the scoring for the Celtics with 40 pts and hit 14 of 20 field-goal attempts. So if Tatum can get back into form, the Celtics should be confident that the Brown/Tatum duo can even the series on Tuesday.
The injury to Jimmy Butler is a big blow for the Heat, even if he plays - he surely won't be 100%. The Celtics will adjust their defensive gameplan to counter Adebayo and we can't see them turning the ball over 23 times again. Tatum rarely has 2 bad games in a row as well so Boston should be able to bounce back on their home turf.
Stadium Record
Boston are 17-6 at home in their last 23. Miami has won 4 of their last 5 at TD Garden.
Head to Head Record
Miami lead this series 2-1 and have won 6 of the last 10 meetings.
Best Bet
Golden State Warriors at Dallas Mavericks
The Warriors are now just 1 win away from the NBA finals and will be eager for a clean sweep when they meet the Mavs in Game 4 on Wednesday. In the Game 3 victory, Curry top-scored with 31 pts and he's now scored 30+ pts in 2 straight games. He was excellent from three, shooting 5 of 10. Wiggins provided excellent support with 27 pts and he's averaging 20 pts in the series. Klay Thompson hit 3 threes and added 19 pts. Defensively, the Warriors have been impressive as they've allowed just 101 points per game and they've now won 4 straight games.
Meanwhile, the Mavs will be desperate to keep this series alive, especially on their home court. But they're simply getting outplayed by the Warriors. Doncic comes off 40 pts in Game 3 and that makes it back to back games with 40+ pts. So he can't do much else scoring-wise. Brunson was good again with 20 pts and Dinwiddie was in form off the bench with 26 pts / 4 threes. However, Bullock had an absolute shocker as he missed all 18 attempts - 0-10 from the field and 0-7 from three. The same can be said for Kleber as he was 0-10 for the game.
The Warriors are a complete team with a great offence and their defence has been impressive in this series. For the Mavs, their offence is struggling to get production outside of Doncic, Brunson and Dinwiddie - which is one of the major factors in this series. Warriors to complete the sweep.
Stadium Record
Dallas are 5-2 at home in this year's playoffs. The Warriors are 2-3 at this venue in their last 5.
Head to Head Record
Golden State lead this series 3-0.
Best Bet
