Boston Celtics key to victory No. 1) Finish strong in all four quarters
Thursday night marked yet another squandered third-quarter lead for the Boston Celtics in this year’s postseason. Up by as many as 17 points in game two it appeared the shamrocks simply wanted this game more than Miami, as they were hustling on both sides of the ball, creating looks for others and battling for the boards for second-chance opportunities.
Then, unfortunately, the third quarter came about.
Outscored by a point total of 37-17, a period in which the Cs started things with a 13 point lead (60-47) saw them trailing by the end by seven points to the tune of 84-77.
A putrid performance at this juncture in a game is nothing new in the 2020 postseason for the Celtics. As pointed out in a recent publication, of all seven games played in the Semifinals against Toronto, six of their third quarters were won by the Raptors — registering in at a combined point differential of 208 to 178.
The third period seems to be the Achilles heel for the Boston Celtics. Starting off hot is nice, but if they can’t finish things off strong, what’s the point of a great beginning to a game?
If they wish to attain their first win of this Eastern Conference Finals series, they’ll need to play well for ALL four quarters, and not just three.