The two NBA conference finals series are heading to the all-important Game 4, with the home teams facing must-win situations.
Over in the East, the Boston Celtics need to beat the Miami Heat at home to avoid going down a 3-1 hole in the series.
And out West, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks are on the verge of elimination against the Golden State Warriors, who are one win away from returning to the NBA Finals.
Read on below as SBOTOP previews these two critical conference final Game 4s.
Miami Heat @ Boston Celtics
After getting blown out in Game 2 at home, the top-seeded Heat reclaimed home-court advantage as they held off the Boston Celtics 109-103 in Game 3.
The Celtics, who were down by 21 points after the first quarter, made a late comeback in the fourth quarter. But despite missing star Jimmy Butler for the second half, the Heat held on to get the crucial road victory.
Butler is listed as questionable for Game 4 due to his inflamed knee, but the All-Star intends to play through the injury. Butler had been averaging 35 points and 7.5 rebounds through the first two games of the series, and his availability will be huge for the Heat.
Bam Adebayo starred in Butler’s absence with 31 points and 10 rebounds in Game 3. The Heat are much harder to stop when Adebayo plays with that sort of aggressiveness offensively.
As for the Celtics, they have their own injury issues to deal with. Centre Robert Williams missed Game 3 due to his troublesome surgically repaired left knee, while reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart suffered an ankle sprain. Both are questionable to play in Game 4.
However, star Jayson Tatum is listed as probable after suffering a shoulder injury. Tatum, the Celtics’ leading scorer in these playoffs at nearly 27 PPG, had one of his worst games of this postseason in Game 3 with just 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting. Tatum has bounced back well from disappointing performances in these playoffs, and the Celtics will need their star to deliver once again.
Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown had 40 points in Game 3 as his terrific postseason continues. Brown is averaging 29 points on 55 per cent shooting with 9 rebounds through the first three games of the series, and the Celtics need him to continue playing with confidence on the offensive end.
Betting Tip: Celtics Asian Handicap -6.50 @ 1.92
Golden State Warriors @ Dallas Mavericks
The Golden State Warriors’ NBA 2022 odds of making their first NBA Finals berth since 2019 are looking good as they’ve built up a commanding 3-0 lead over the Dallas Mavericks.
The Warriors won Game 3 in Dallas, 109-100, on the back of big games from Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins. Curry had 31 points and 11 assists – his second double-double in three games – while Wiggins, who had been questionable with an ankle injury, had a playoff-high 27 points and 11 rebounds, as well as a monstrous dunk over Luka Doncic, which is one of the top NBA 2022 highlights of the playoffs to date.
Wiggins (20.7 points, 7.0 rebounds per game) has been arguably the Warriors’ second-best player thus far in this series. He’s playing with more aggressiveness offensively while playing dogged defence on Luka Doncic.
Meanwhile, Curry has done well to exploit Dallas’ lack of rim protection by consistently getting to the paint and finishing at the basket. And after some recent shooting struggles, his trademark 3-pointer is dropping once again, which is a bad sign for the Mavs.
Speaking of 3-pointers, it also didn’t help Dallas that their 3-point shooting regressed to the mean. After going a sizzling 21-of-45 in Game 2, they went just 13-of-45 in Game 3. Two of their main role players in Reggie Bullock and Maxi Kleber were both disastrous offensively in Game 3 as they combined for zero points on 0-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc.
Doncic did all he could to keep the Mavs afloat with 40 points – his second straight game of 40 or more – while guards Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie combined for 46 points on over 50 per cent shooting. Dinwiddie had scored just 21 points through the first two games of the series and has struggled for consistency throughout the playoffs.
The Mavs desperately need Dinwiddie and their other role players to be more productive and hit more 3-pointers to stand any chance of staving off elimination – and a humiliating sweep – on their home floor in Game 4.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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