Boston Celtics at Miami Heat

He's a Herro: Heat top Celtics, move a game from NBA Finals

He carries a red spiral-bound notebook with him at all times, jotting down notes when things pop into his head. What worked, what didn't, where he thinks he can get better and how he's feeling after a game.

"It helps me get locked in, helps me focus," Herro said.

"He has a great competitive humility about him," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He has a confidence. He has a fearlessness that is uncommon. But he's humble enough to work, to be coachable, to take the mentorship from the veteran players that we have on our team, and he just continues to gain more confidence as we go."

"I didn't score in the first half. That's unacceptable," Tatum said. "I know I have to play better. That's what I tried to do."

"At the end of the day, we got to find a way," Walker said. "That's really all we can do. We can do it. It's about pride. It's about wanting to do it. Next game we got to come out and show that."

Herro made 14 of 21 shots from the floor, 5 for 10 from 3-point range and became just the second 20-year-old in NBA playoff history to score at least 37 points in a game. The other: Magic Johnson, who had 42 in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals for the Los Angeles Lakers.

"I feel good about it," Herro said. "There's a lot of work to be done still. We're up 3-1."

And the Heat rookie playoff record was 27 by Dwyane Wade in 2004; it now belongs to Herro, who scored 17 points in the fourth alone.

Daniel Theis scored with 8:44 left to put Boston up 85-84, the Celtics' first lead since 25-24 with 11:19 left in the second quarter. It was Boston's only lead in the second half and it lasted just 16 seconds. Adebayo scored to give Miami the lead, and Herro basically carried the load from there.

"Herro's shot-making tonight was ... the difference in the game," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "Jimmy was great late. Adebayo was his typical self. Dragic made some big plays. But Herro was ridiculously good tonight. That rim must have looked like the ocean to him."

The Celtics shot exactly 8-for-20 in each of the first two quarters and that, combined with 11 turnovers, helped the Heat go into the break with a 50-44 lead.

But Tatum's first basket after an 0-for-7 start sparked what became a 6-for-7 finish to the third quarter for him, he had 16 of Boston's 32 points in that period and the Celtics were within 77-76 going into the fourth.

The Heat, behind their youngest player, wouldn't fold.

"Nothing Tyler does surprises me," Adebayo said.

TIP-INS

Celtics: Tatum's 0-for-6 first half tied for the second-worst opening-half shooting of his career. He was 0 for 8 to begin against Dallas on Nov. 11, and 0 for 6 against Milwaukee in the first two quarters of a playoff game on April 17, 2018. ... It was announced before the game that Hayward and wife Robyn are parents for a fourth time; Gordon Theodore Hayward is their first son.

LANGFORD OUT

Nobody knows when next season will start, but the Celtics are anticipating that guard Romeo Langford may not be ready when it does. Langford had surgery this week to repair a ligament issue in his wrist. "It will probably bleed into next season, whenever that starts," Stevens said.

3-1 LEADS

This is the 12th time Miami has taken a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series. The Heat won each of the previous 11.

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Regular Season Series

BOS wins series 2-1