The Boston Celtics are on the brink of elimination from the NBA playoffs.
The Miami Heat took a commanding 3-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals with a 112-109 victory in Game 4 on Wednesday night. The Heat need one more win to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014, while the Celtics are on the verge of losing in the conference finals for the third time in four seasons.
The Celtics turned the ball over way too much. They committed 19 turnovers, including turnovers on three consecutive possessions midway through the fourth quarter and seven turnovers in the final 12 minutes overall. The Heat turned the ball over just eight times.
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Despite being careless with the ball, Boston still led 85-84 at one point in the fourth quarter and had a chance to win late but couldn't close the deal.
Tyler Herro was the difference for the Heat. The rookie forward scored a playoff career high 37 points on 14-of-21 shooting. It's the most points by a rookie in a conference finals game.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 28 points despite not scoring in the first half. Jaylen Brown poured in 21 points.
FINAL SCORE: Heat 112, Celtics 109
Boston Celtics
SERIES: 3-1 Heat
HIGHLIGHTS
Kemba Walker hits early from 3-point range.
Walker scored nine points in the first eight minutes of the game.
Bam Adebayo finishes the one-handed alley-oop with authority.
Tyler Herro has scored 10-plus points in all 13 of the Heat's playoff games.
The first half was a struggle offensively for Jayson Tatum, but he found other ways to make an impact.
This 4-point play from Goran Dragic helped the Heat open up an 8-point lead in the second quarter.
Gordon Hayward loses his defender with a spin move and hits the mid-range jumper.
Tatum erupted with 16 points in the third quarter to help the C's chip away at the Heat's lead.
Herro is having the best game of his career.
Herro is doing it all -- 3-point shots, mid-range jumpers and finishing at the rim.
Herro is on fire.
Jaylen Brown gave the Celtics a chance with a late 3-pointer.
UP NEXT
The Celtics and Heat will play the pivotal Game 5 of the series Friday night at 8:30 p.m. ET.