The Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics 112-109 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.
Four players – Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro – scored 103 of the Heat’s 112 points. Miami is one win away from reaching its first NBA Finals since 2014.
“Can you imagine if the Miami Heat won the title here in 2020 in a bubble?” JR SportBrief asked on CBS Sports Radio. “You don’t think that would be one of the more improbable runs ever? I know they have to get past the Boston Celtics, but the story is written. The opportunity is already there. I don’t see the Miami Heat giving this up. I see the Miami Heat going to the Finals to take on the Lakers. I thought the Celtics would take this in seven. Maybe they can snatch a game here on Friday, maybe they can push it – I don’t know. But the odds are in the Miami Heat’s favor right now.”
Herro scored a game-high 37 points for the Heat in Game 4. He shot 14-of-21 from the floor, including 5-of-10 from three-point range. The 20-year-old is averaging 20.5 points in the series, this after averaging 13.2 points in the conference semifinals against Milwaukee.
“If you want to go back to last year at this exact time – because this season has basically been a year long – who the hell had the Heat doing all of this?” JR asked. “Who was predicting Duncan Robinson to step up like this in his second year? Who was expecting this out of Tyler Herro? Who thought Bam Adebayo would be where he is? This is a surprising run.”
The Heat, the fifth seed in the East, could become the lowest seed to reach the NBA Finals since the 1999 New York Knicks, who were seeded eighth.
“Is this one of the more improbable runs towards an NBA Finals that you've seen?” JR asked. “Are you surprised at what the Heat are doing based on what the expectations were prior to the season? I’d say yes – and it’s a pretty damn fun thing to watch.”