The Celtics didn't give the Heat any chance, and from the first quarter of the game they firmly pressed the opponent, White became a wonder man on the offensive end, leading the team's offense with his own strength. Although the Heat showed enough resilience, they were still far inferior to their opponents in terms of strength, and in the end they could only swallow the defeat at home. On April 30, 2024, Beijing time, the Miami Heat lost to the Boston Celtics 88-102. Bam Adebayo had 25 points, 17 rebounds and five assists, Tatum had 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and White had 38 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Before the series began, not many people believed that the Heat could beat the Celtics, after all, they were without Butler. But the Heat staged a miracle again, "stealing" a victory on the road. Even if the Celtics regain home-court advantage in the last game, such a situation will not put pressure on the Heat, but will make them more eager to fight. Despite being on the road, the Celtics did not feel the slightest discomfort after the start of the game, and even though Tatum was targeted by the Heat's players, White managed to lead the Celtics' offense. In just one quarter of the game, White scored 16 points and became the wonder man of the Celtics. With White's play, the Celtics quickly extended their lead to double digits.
The Heat still use the offensive combination of Bam Adebayo and Herro inside and outside, but because the team's tactical focus is too obvious, the Celtics can always easily see through the Heat's tactics. The team's offense is not effective, and the Heat can only work on the defensive end, and their high-speed rotation defense does have a certain deterrent effect, but because the Celtics have too many one-on-one offensive points, the Heat still can't quickly narrow the point difference. In order to enhance the diversity of the offense, the Heat replaced the veteran Mills, but the team's offensive crisis has still not been resolved, and even in the position, Pritchard has also limited Mills' breakthrough very well. Porzingis hit a three-pointer and Holiday hit a layup on a counter-attack, giving the Celtics a 15-point lead over the Heat. Highsmith's 2+1 helped the Heat break the scoring deadlock, but the Celtics didn't feel any pressure on the offensive end, and they were still able to score the ball easily through cooperation.
After winning five points in a row, the Celtics' lead has reached as many as 22 points. Adebayo was stuck under the basket and was whistled for an offensive foul by the referee for too big a move, and the Heat had no way to do it on the offensive end. Herro hit a three-pointer at the top of the arc, and the Celtics started to make mistakes as they relaxed, and the Heat got a chance to catch up. When the Celtics needed someone to score, White stepped up again, hitting consecutive outside shots, and then advancing to the front court with the ball, assisting Brown with a one-handed dunk, and single-handedly suppressing the Heat's counterattack momentum. After White opened up, Tatum also gained more offensive space, and he began to use the breakthrough to create a threat under the basket, and the Celtics had firmly controlled the situation on the court.
The Celtics, who entered the fourth quarter with a 22-point advantage, were already very relaxed on the court, while the Heat did not relax and still used defensive counterattacks to try to catch up with the score. In terms of offensive momentum, the Heat's performance was better than the first three quarters, but on the defensive end, they were still unable to limit the Celtics' pick-and-roll cover, and they were still firmly suppressed by the opponent. With the Heat replacing their starters, the game went into garbage time. In the end, the Celtics defeated the Heat on the road and won the series match point.