[ad_1]
Rising star Tyler Herro scored a career-high 37 points and Jimmy Butler contributed 24 as the Miami Heat took command of their final Eastern Conference series with a 112-109 victory on Wednesday.
20-year-old rookie Herro made five of 10 triples as Miami took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series in the NBA’s quarantine bubble in Orlando, Florida.
The victory moved them to a one-place victory in the NBA Finals that they will attempt to secure in Game 5 on Friday.
Goran Dragic scored 22 points and Bam Adebayo added 20 points and 12 rebounds for Miami, which rebounded from its second loss of the postseason in the third game.
Jayson Tatum scored 28 points, all in the second half, and Jaylen Brown had 21 for Boston, which was looking to win consecutive playoff games for the first time since the start of its second-round series against the Toronto Raptors.
Kemba Walker scored 20, Gordon Hayward 14 and Marcus Smart had 10 points and 11 assists.
Miami had a 10-4 run late in the first half after Hayward hit a pair of free throws to tie the score 40-40 with 3:38 left in the second.
In the second half, Herro nailed a triple with just over four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to give Miami a 98-90 lead.
Brown hit a triple and Smart threw a layup to put the Celtics to three, but Dragic and Butler each made baskets to bolster Miami’s lead.
Dragic responded from beyond the arc and Herro added a layup to put Miami up by nine with 56 seconds remaining in regulation.
Boston got back within three with a triple by Brown with 16 seconds to go, but free throws from Herro and Butler sealed the victory.
SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY NEWSLETTER
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
