Celtics go deep (into garbage time)

Denver vs. Los Angeles is as alive as the NBA keeps it

I thought Jimmy Butler was down to his last ankle. I thought Jimmy Butler was down to his last glint of cartilage after 513 career regular season and playoff games under Tom Thibodeau.

I thought Boston was on a mission, felled by the fading Warriors last June, eyes focused since July, no letup until the trophy returned where it belonged.

I also thought the Boston Celtics packed The Switch, the circuit containing one of the NBA’s best defenses.

Barely bothered by all that thinking, the Miami Heat used about seven hours’ worth of strong effort spread over three nights to earn the 3-0 lead in the Eastern finals. Miami won Sunday’s endeavor by blowout margin, 128-102.

The Heat are a brilliant organization. Commendable culture, top to bottom, but these wins aren’t about months of preparation, papers printed off and stacked upon Bam Adebayo’s locker room chair. Game 3 wasn’t about Miami’s fancy points-per-possession scoreboard in the same locker room, Miami didn’t win because Erik Spoelstra is the best coach in the NBA.