Still Alive: Celtics Down Heat In Game 3

Kevin Garnett Moves Inside In Celtics' Win Over Heat

Perhaps the most striking change from the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals (both won by the Miami Heat) and the Boston Celtics' Game 3 victory was how Kevin Garnett got his shots -- or more accurately, where he got them. On the season, KG relied on the mid-range: Only 35 percent of his shot attempts came within 10 feet of the rim, according to Hoopdata. The numbers were similar in the first two games of the series. In Game 1, seven of KG's 16 shots came within 10 feet of the rim (44 percent). In Game 2, the split was just five of 18 shots (28 percent).

But in Game 3, the share reversed: 12 of Garnett's 16 shots came within 10 feet, including a number of them in the deep paint. KG set up in the post much more frequently to take advantage of Miami's lack of size, and it worked. The Heat couldn't stop him.

That shift has Miami worrying about Game 4 and beyond and wondering if Bosh will return soon.

For more on the Celtics, visit CelticsBlog and SB Nation Boston.

Celtics Vs. Heat, NBA Playoffs 2012 Game 3: Celtics Win 101-91

After an overtime loss in Game 2, the Celtics got back into their series with the Heat thanks to a 101-91 win in Game 3. Miami leads the best-of-seven series 2-1.

Boston dominated the second and third quarters of Game 3, building a 21-point lead over the Heat. Rajon Rondo followed up his 44 point, 10 assist, eight rebound performance in Game 2 with 21 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in Game 3. Kevin Garnett also finished with a double-double, scoring a team-high 24 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.

LeBron James led Miami with 34 points, including 20 points in the first half. James also led Miami with eight rebounds. Dwyane Wade chipped in 18 points on 9-of-20 shooting, but was well below his postseason average of 23.6 points per game. Miami was outrebounded by Boston 44-32, losing the rebound battle for the first time in the series.

The teams will meet in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday.

For more on these teams, visit Heat blog Peninsula is Mightier and CelticsBlog. To stay up to date on all of the happenings in the 2012 NBA playoffs, head over to SB Nation's dedicated NBA hub.

Why I'm Not Taking The Heat's Small Lineup Seriously

Many Miami Heat fans will feel optimistic that a wacky lineup with LeBron James playing center got them back into Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals before they finally succumbed. They shouldn’t.

Sure, the lineup performed well, bringing the Heat back from a 24-point fourth-quarter deficit, but the most meaningful part of that run came in a two-minute, 19-second stretch where Kevin Garnett was on the bench. Once Garnett was inserted back into the game, the tide was stemmed.

Essentially, here’s how things broke down.

-From 12:00 to 8:51, the Heat cut a 24-point lead to 19. Garnett went out at this point.
-From 8:51 to 6:14, the Heat cut a 19-point lead to 11. Garnett then came back into the game.
-From 6:14 to 1:39, the Heat cut a 11-point lead to 10. Garnett was in the whole time.

If you’re keeping score, over half of the points the Heat made up were in a 2:37 stretch where Garnett was out of the game. If the Heat try this small lineup again, you can bet Doc Rivers will immediately put Garnett back in to stem the tide.

Mario Chalmers Winks After Kevin Garnett's Elbow

Mario Chalmers’ actions here indicate that even he knows he flopped to induce a technical foul on Kevin Garnett for what appeared to be a flagrant elbow at first glance. This is the part of the story where I’m supposed to feel sorry for Garnett, but I won’t, because he’s Kevin Garnett.

Heat's Small Lineup Is Working Beautifully

Somehow, this is an 11-point game. Fueled by hot three-point shooting from Mike Miller, the Heat, despite playing LeBron James at center for the entire stretch, are back in this thing.

The problem for Boston: with Brandon Bass in, someone’s going to be open beyond the arc. As it turns out, that was Miller. There’s a reason Kevin Garnett was inserted back into the game quickly.

LeBron James Is Playing Center Right Now

Alongside Mario Chalmers, Dwyane Wade, Mike Miller and Shane Battier.

You cannot divide anything by the number of minutes James played at center this season. (That means zero, for people who don’t get bad, convoluted jokes).

Heat Vs. Celtics Game 3 Score Update: Boston Cruising, Up By 22

Let's be real here: The Celtics are cruising, and letting Game 2 slip away seems like an even more devastating opportunity lost.

Through three quarters, Boston leads the Miami Heat 85-63 and they are doing it at both ends of the court, with stifling, 2008-like defense and prolific offense.

After a relatively quiet first half, Rajon Rondo led the scoring charge out of the locker room with seven points and three assists in the third quarter.

Off the bench, the Celtics are getting key contributions from Keyon Dooling and Marquis Daniels. While both players have been inconsistent this season, they're helping out tonight in ways they'll need to continue for the rest of the series. The two have combined for 16 points with Daniels providing extra effort on the defensive end.

Because the Heat have two of the best basketball playmakers in the world, no lead is ever entirely safe until the final buzzer has sounded. But you have to feel good about their chances of Boston avoiding a 3-0 series deficit and winning tonight.

For more on these teams, visit Heat blog Peninsula is Mightier and CelticsBlog. To stay up to date on all of the happenings in the 2012 NBA playoffs, head over to SB Nation's dedicated NBA hub.

Rajon Rondo Is Something Else

Udonis Haslem might want to destroy all copies of this tape. In case he sees this: don’t worry, we’ll take it down if you want. Just don’t come after us.

UPDATE: OH GOD I know Haslem's coming after us now.

Marquis Daniels Is Replicating Avery Bradley

Well, not completely, but in one key area: baseline cuts. One of the major things Avery Bradley did to the Heat in the regular season was occupy defenders with hard backdoor dives to the rim. Even if he didn’t get the ball, he made himself a threat, so the Heat had to attend to him.

The Celtics had been missing that element since Bradley got hurt. In Friday’s Game 3 against the Heat, they’ve gotten it back with Daniels. He’s slid along the baseline for two layups cutting backdoor, and one other time, his cut prevented Dwyane Wade from double-teaming Ray Allen near the hoop.

Count on the Heat adjusting here, but it’s still a welcome sight.

Rajon Rondo With The Coolest Steal Ever

Normally, I hate it when crowds chant “MVP” for their players. After this play by Rajon Rondo, though, the crowd can do whatever it wants.

Heat Standing Around On Defense Too

Not only are the Heat standing around offensively off the ball, they’re also not really helping each other defensively. Paul Pierce caught Dwyane Wade in an isolation in the post, and nobody came to help Wade as Pierce bullied his way for a layup.

The Celtics have adjusted to the Heat switching screens by posting up the smaller guy. Now, the Heat have to adjust and provide more help.

The Heat Have Stopped Cutting

Want to know why the Celtics’ defense has been so successful? Everyone on the Heat is flattening out and trying to space the floor instead of making aggressive basket cuts. It’s no wonder the Celtics have been able to load up on LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

Heat Vs. Celtics Score Update: Boston's Outshooting Miami, Leads By 13 At Half

After a first qurater that saw the Boston Celtics shoot 60 percent from the floor, the Green continued their hot shooting and lead the Miami Heat 55-42 at halftime.

The Celtics built off a strong finish to the first quarter to post a 24-6 run midway through the second quarter. They are led by Paul Pierce's 15 points on 5-13 shooting.

Coming off a 44-point performance in game two, Rajon Rondo has tempered himself with just six first-half points and seven assists, playing the more customary role of distributor.

After a hot start (16 points in the first quarter), LeBron James has cooled off with just four second-quarter points. He'll also need to watch himself coming out of the locker room as he's playing with three personal fouls.

Aside from the early transition baskets Miami got early in this game, the Celtics defense has been exceptional.

As our own Mike Prada pointed out, the Cetlics are being successful with a strongside zone defense that is designed to take away isolation sets -- something the Heat are conditioned to with with James and Dwyane Wade. Because the Celtics are scoring with alacrity, the Heat are being forced into half court sets, and aside from James, they have struggled to get good looks at the hoop.

For more on these teams, visit Heat blog Peninsula is Mightier and CelticsBlog. To stay up to date on all of the happenings in the 2012 NBA playoffs, head over to SB Nation's dedicated NBA hub.

LeBron James Just Picked Up His Third Foul

And the crowd goes wild!!!

(Well, not really. But still, I’m sure they’re finally happy).

Celtics Keep Overloading Their Defense To Cover The Ball

It’s shades of 2008, really. That was the first year then-Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau introduced the strongside zone defense, designed to take away isolations by flooding so much defensive attention to the ball. The Celtics have adopted that again to counter all the isolations and 1-4 flat sets the Heat keep trying to run.

Naturally, Miami’s offense, after a fast start, is having major problems.

This Is The Celtics' Lineup Right Now

Rajon Rondo
Keyon Dooling
Ray Allen
Marquis Daniels
Brandon Bass

And it’s working. NBA, you are so unpredictable.

Keyon Dooling, Marquis Daniels Have Upped The Celtics' Defensive Intensity

The Miami Heat still haven’t scored this quarter, which is pretty amazing given that they scored 28 points in the first quarter.

What changed? As crazy as it sounds, Keyon Dooling and Marquis Daniels have done a great job pressuring the ball, forcing the Heat to play too much one-on-one.

Amazing how those guys have been the difference, but they have.

Kevin Garnett Does Some Bad Pushups

If Kevin Garnett was doing a high-school fitness test, his gym teacher probably wouldn’t have counted these as push-ups. Let’s be honest here. He probably would have done that annoying thing trainers do and shouted “ONE. ONE. ONE. ONE. ONE.”

Fun gimmick, though.

Kevin Garnett Is Getting Touches This Game

One thing that Doc Rivers said between Games 1 and 2 is that the Celtics needed to get Kevin Garnett more shots. So far, mission accomplished. Garnett is 4-4 and has nine points, as the Celtics lead by four.

The Celtics are putting a clinic on how to get the ball inside against pressure. On a recent play, they tried entering the ball from the wing, but the Heat fronted the post and prevented the pass. The Celtics then swung the ball to the middle of the floor and tossed in a beautifully-timed lob for a layup.

If only the Pacers found a way to do this.

Heat Vs. Celtics Score Update: Boston Leads Despite LeBron's Hot Start

Lebron James is winning some sort of battle, but the Boston Celtics are winning the war.

Through one quarter, the Celtics hold a 30-28 lead despite a 16-point performance so far for James.

Rajon Rondo, who opened the game with an odd basketball header after receiving the jump tip, was given a standing ovation by the TD Garden crowd, acknowledging his 44-point performance on Wednesday night.

The Heat jumped out to an early lead with a number of easy transition buckets, and James has been nearly unstoppable along the perimeter, but the Celtics Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett have responded themselves, with eight and seven points, respectively.

As you would expect, emotions are running high, as mid-way through the first quarter Garnett and Mario Chalmers exchanged words under the basket.

For more on these teams, visit Heat blog Peninsula is Mightier and CelticsBlog. To stay up to date on all of the happenings in the 2012 NBA playoffs, head over to SB Nation's dedicated NBA hub.

The Celtics' Transition Defense Continues To Be Terrible

All series, the Boston Celtics have surrendered too many easy buckets in transition. It’s especially strange to see because the Celtics are known to favor dropping guys back instead of crashing for offensive rebounds. But in this series, they’ve crashed the boards too heavily and gotten lackadaisical with their assignments.

The Heat already have two transition layups off made Celtics shots early in Game 3. First, Mario Chalmers danced right around an unaware Brandon Bass for a layup. Then, LeBron James ran untouched up the left side and glided in for a three-point play.

Too often, after the Celtics put together a strong offensive set, they negate it with bad transition defense. This has to change if they want to have a chance of getting back in this thing.

Rajon Rondo Shows His Soccer Skills

Rajon Rondo is known to do really strange things to the ball if his team wins the opening tip, but I don’t think he’s ever done this.

Real nice of Rondo to show support to the U.S. National Team after their 4-1 loss to Brazil earlier in the week.

EDIT: I guess he has done this before. Still, was definitely cool.

Heat Vs. Celtics: How Can Boston Win Game 3?

The Boston Celtics made a lot of great adjustments following their Game 1 loss to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Final, but it wasn't quite enough. The Heat came away with a hard-fought, 115-111 overtime win in Game 2 on Wednesday night, taking a 2-0 series lead heading back to Boston and demoralizing the Celtics' resolve.

Now, the Celtics must respond in Friday's Game 3 in order to save their season. What kind of changes can they make in their game-plan to get it done? SB Nation's Ben Golliver discussed that, as well as Game 2, in this video.

As Golliver notes in the video, the Heat "know they took a very, very good punch from Boston" to survive Game 2. It'd be easy for them to think that was the best punch the Celtics can provide in this series. We'll see if that ends up being the case.

For more on these teams, visit Heat blog Peninsula is Mightier and CelticsBlog. To stay up to date on all of the happenings in the 2012 NBA playoffs, head over to SB Nation's dedicated NBA hub.

NBA Playoffs 2012, Celtics Vs. Heat Game 3: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

Rajon Rondo went off Wednesday night, but can he and the Celtics not only keep pace again, but actually beat the Heat in Game 3? They'll need to in order to prevent LeBron James and company from taking an all-but insurmountable 3-0 lead.