The Miami Heat have gone from stealing Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals from the Boston Celtics to making a complete mockery of them.
Miami routed the men in green 128-102 in Game 3 to take a 3-0 series lead, and Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla admitted afterward that he has lost his locker room.
Losing a locker room and the buy-in of players is considered the worst thing that can happen to a head coach in any pro sport. When such a thing happens to a team, especially at this stage of the playoffs, that team is usually done.
After losing the first two games of the series in Boston, the Celtics were presumed by many to be done, and Game 3 did nothing to disprove that sentiment.
Miami took control early, and after going up by 15 at halftime, it continued its onslaught and led by as many as 33 points. It looks like perhaps the Celtics have quit, and at the very least, they haven’t shown the type of fight and stubbornness that past editions have had going back many decades.
The Heat, on the other hand, are all about fight and stubbornness, not to mention intelligence and seemingly a million other intangibles. They outrebounded Boston by 22, which was just one measure of those qualities.
Getting swept has been a rare occurrence in the Celtics’ storied history, but it is looking likely the Heat will make exactly that a reality in Game 4, which will take place on Tuesday evening in South Florida.
Unlike in past games, Miami didn’t win because of a prolific game from Jimmy Butler. This time, Gabe Vincent was the main Celtics killer with 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting while Duncan Robinson, who had struggled all season, added 22 points and five 3-pointers off the bench.
It is looking like all of South Florida can look forward to a matchup between the Heat and Denver Nuggets for the NBA championship.