Miami Heat Rookie Tyler Herro was the hero of Wednesday night’s Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, scoring a career-high 37 points while Jimmy Butler added 24, as the Miami Heat held off the Boston Celtics 112-109.
The rookie in Game 3 exploded for 18 first-half points, including a flurry of 3s that kept the Miami Heat’s offence afloat. He served an extra spine for the Heat aside what Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic, and Bam Adebayo provide. He is also averaging 14.8 points, 4.0 assists, and 5.7 rebounds in the playoffs. But he didn’t have a game like this on his resume.
In Game 4 on Wednesday, Herro poured in 37 points off the bench against the Boston Celtics, firing the Heat to a 112-109 victory and a 3-1 series lead.
The best part, he did it in an efficient fashion: 14-for-21 shooting, 5-for-10 from deep.
Watch Game 4 highlights below:
Related: NBA Playoffs 2020: Denver Nuggets show toughness to grab much-needed Game 3 win over Lakers (Video)
He made Boston’s weaker defenders pay, exploited its drop coverage in pick-and-rolls, and after he’d gotten in the zone, he couldn’t care less who was guarding him.
With about four minutes left in the fourth quarter, Herro isolated against all-world defender Marcus Smart and launched a jumper from several feet behind the 3-point line. Smart contested it just fine, but it dropped through the net, earning a “BANG!” from Mike Breen on the broadcast.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra says: “The context of those makes is the big separators in this league.
“Those are pressure shots. We had to step up against a really good defence. He was making plays at the end of the clock. And that’s the skill set that he has.”
Miami managed a 12-point lead in the third quarter and that’s all thanks to its defence, which took the Celtics completely out of rhythm as the Heat’s 2-3 zone once again proved disruptive.
Boston star Jayson Tatum didn’t score a single point in the first half, but he picked things up and finished this game with a team-high 28 points on 10-for-22 shooting – remarkable stuff from someone who was out of sorts for so long.
Even when the Celtics got going, though, Miami still managed to match their playmaking and defensive versatility with its own.
Bam Adebayo continued to give Boston trouble. He scored 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting, with 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and an incalculable amount of activity at the bottom of the Heat’s zone.
Butler and Dragic although not all efficient shooting-wise on the night, made up with clutch plays and kept Miami steady on offence.
The Celtics had a chance right down to the end, but couldn’t overcome their 19 turnovers. compared to the Heat’s eight.
Miami can secure its finals ticket with a win in Game 5 on Friday.
