The Miami Heat needed all the firepower they could muster in Wednesday’s Game 4. It came in the form of a cold-blooded and sharpshooting rookie maestro.
The Miami Heat came into Wednesday’s Game 4 desperate. Yes, we know, they were the team that was up 2-1 in the series but they still came in hungry.
Over the first three games of the series and again, although the Miami Heat won two of those three, they got off to awful starts. It finally bit them big in Game 3, resulting in what would turn out to be an insurmountable lead.
They would not let that be the case on Wednesday though, as they came out invigorated and energized from the tip. Unlike the previous three games of the series where the Miami Heat got out to slow starts and had to play catch up, they were the aggressors from the opening tip.
They weren’t able to take massive leads into the second period like the Celtics had been doing, but they were able to take a slight lead and at the very worst, enter it even.
The Miami Heat controlled this game for most of it. They were the ones getting out to double-digit leads on multiple occasions, only leaving the Boston Celtics to have to come back.
That is what happened in this game. The Miami Heat came out determined to not have to play from behind and as the comebacks in every game this series have indicated, even the one they lost, when the Miami Heat play their brand of ball they are at worst an evenly matched team to this Celtics team.
The Miami Heat got a huge win on Wednesday. What’s possibly more exciting is how they got it though.
Getting out to big leads plus playing a team “even” is a way to win ball games. That’s what the Miami Heat did on Wednesday.
The even bigger takeaway from the contest though is how they did it. They did it on the back of a rookie.
They did it on the back of the rookie with the self-proclaimed most drip in the NBA. That’s right, one Tyler Christopher Herro and the pride of Whitnall, had himself a game.
When the Miami Heat needed a big shot on Wednesday night, it was Tyler Herro who came through in a pinch. He was doing it every which way you wanted it as far as scoring, but he also defended, ran the team, and created for others while doing so.
The 20-year-old rookie finished with an obvious career-high 37 points, six rebounds, and three assists on 5-10 shooting from deep and 14-21 from the floor. He not only broke Dwyane Wade‘s rookie scoring record while the Miami Heat’s greatest watched along, but he then proceeded to set the bar even higher for the next poor soul who thinks he has a chance.
Tyler Herro was the guy on Wednesday night and the Miami Heat needed every bit of it. This is what he has been doing when given the opportunity all year long and even more so in the bubble.
What a rookie.
The Miami Heat are off for a day, before being right back at it for Game 5 on Friday. They had three days off before this one so they should be well-rested and eager to get it done.
Let’s hope that the daunting and commanding 3-1 lead is just that. Hopefully, Friday sees Miami heading to an NBA title berth.