The Boston Celtics needed a win to avoid going down 3-0 in the series against the Miami Heat and they did just that, bringing a different level of energy to get on the board in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Led by their dynamic duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics were in control for the majority of the game. Another late push from the Heat put a scare into Boston, but they’d ultimately hold off Miami for the first time this series to bring it to 2-1.
If you missed any of the action we had you covered with live updates, highlights and more from this contest.
Final: Boston Celtics 117, Miami Heat 106
The Heat didn’t make it easy on them, but the Celtics were able to hold on to this one to take Game 3.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were electric in leading Boston to victory. Tatum finished with a near-triple-double of 25 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists while Brown had 26 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block. Gordon Hayward looked solid in his first game back, playing over 30 minutes with six points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals to make an impact.
For the Heat, Bam Adebayo’s 27-point, 16-rebound double-double stands out while Tyler Herro’s 22 points (15 in the second quarter) was the only other constant source of offence.
Bam Adebayo got an easy layup to drop to cut the lead to five, but Marcus Smart converted a pair of free throws to bring the lead back to seven. Celtics lead 111-104 with 47 seconds to go.
I repeat… Miami still will not go away. Duncan Robinson knocks down another two 3s to cut the Celtics lead to just eight points and then draws an offensive foul on Jaylen Brown to give the Heat possession with a minute remaining. UPDATE: That offensive foul has been upgraded to a Flagrant 1, giving the Heat two free throws and the ball. Robinson goes 1-of-2 from the line, trailing 109-102 with 1:03 to play.
Miami still will not go away, but Boston’s still scoring easily in the paint, making it tough for the Heat to cut into this lead. Duncan Robinson finally got a 3-pointer to fall to snap Miami’s streak of missed 3s, but Kemba Walker immediately responded with a strong take to the rim to keep the Celtics up 104-88 with under five minutes remaining.
The Heat have missed 14-straight 3-pointers and are being outscored in the paint 54-28. The combination of those two things helps explain the Celtics 97-80 lead with under eight minutes to play in the contest.
End of third quarter: Celtics 89, Heat 74
The Heat went on a run to keep things close, but the Celtics responded right back with a run of their own to close the quarter.
Jayson Tatum (20 points) and Jaylen Brown (24 points) are stealing the show, while Kemba Walker’s 16 points has been a steadying hand for Boston’s offence. Bam Adebayo had emerged a bit more in that third quarter, up to a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds, but Miami has still been quiet offensively as a whole.
There hasn’t been much from Heat superstar Jimmy Butler in this one just yet, as the All-Star forward has just 10 points shooting 3-for-9 from the field.
And following that 11-1 Heat run, the Celtics go on a 7-0 run of their own to regain control of the game at 89-73. The streak was capped off by this and-one dunk from Jayson Tatum on an ill-advised foul from rookie Kendrick Nunn.
Three consecutive missed layups for the Celtics breathe a little bit of life into the Heat. Miami has since gone on an 11-1 run to cut Boston’s lead to just nine at 82-73 with under two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Heat are hanging around but are struggling to score consistently. Bam Adebayo converts an and-one to help cut into the Celtics’ lead a bit, as Boston has yet to extend their lead to 20. Even with Adebayo’s strong finish, it’s still a convincing 16-point Celtics lead at 78-62.
The Celtics hold a commanding 76-58 lead as they begin to figure out this Heat zone that gave them so much trouble in Games 1 and 2. This dime from Marcus Smart to a cutting Jaylen Brown helps in that department.
The Celtics held off Tyler Herro’s red-hot second quarter to maintain a 12-point lead heading into the half.
Herro was on fire, scoring 15 points in the quarter shooting 6-for-7 from the field with four 3s, but Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown turned things around with easy transition buckets for the Celtics to ignite the run.
Tatum is flirting with a triple-double at halftime with 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Brown is leading the scoring charge with 17 points shooting an efficient 8-for-12 from the field.
Herro is the only Heat player in double figures with 18 points. Bam Adebayo is a perfect 4-for-4 from the field for eight points, but Boston is doing a much better job of keeping him away from easy lobs at the rim. Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler have both been quiet, scoring six points apiece in the first half.
A 9-0 Celtics run negates Tyler Herro’s hot streak, giving Boston a 60-48 lead with under a minute to play in the half. Fiesty defence has turned into transition buckets for the Celtics.
JAYSON TATUM! After receiving a technical foul for arguing a call, the Celtics’ All-Star forward throws down a vicious dunk in transition to spark a run. Boston now leads 45-37 with 6:48 left in the second frame.
Welcome to Game 3, Tyler Herro. The rookie has scored 11 of Miami’s last 14 points, knocking down three straight 3s to bring his team back in to this one. The Heat still trail 40-36 with just over eight minutes remaining in the half.
Jayson Tatum gets a 3-pointer to go just before the quarter comes to a close to give the Celtics a 31-23 lead.
Boston did a much better job of taking care of the ball in the first frame than they did in Game 2, only recording one turnover in the quarter. They’re bringing better energy on the defensive end, making life tough for the Heat who are shooting 35.3% from the field through one period. In a balanced scoring effort, Jae Crowder is the team’s leading scorer with just five points.
Gordon Hayward checks in for the first time since the first round of the playoffs and immediately makes a play, dropping a sweet pass to Daniel Theis for a layup. The Celtics remain in the lead 22-17 with 2:54 left in the quarter, as the Heat are hanging around with all five starters finding their way into the scoring column early.
The Celtics have come out strong, shooting 7-for-11 from the field to take an early 16-9 lead. Jaylen Brown has it going, scoring six points shooting 3-for-4 from the field to get Boston started off right.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens announced pregame that he expected Gordon Hayward to be available in a role off the bench for Game 3, and now he’s officially listed as active.
Gordon Hayward is officially listed as active for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
