Why Eddie House loved the Celtics’ response to Herro’s technical foul

Why Eddie House loved the Celtics’ response to Herro’s technical foul originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston

For the second time in three games, things got complicated between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. And for the second time in three games, the Celtics held firm.

Saturday’s melee occurred late in the third quarter of Game 3 at Kaseya Center, when Boston’s Sam Hauser sent Miami’s Tyler Herro to the floor with a shove after Herro beat him off the dribble. Herro objected by throwing the ball at Hauser’s feet, which earned him a technical foul.

As Heat teammates Haywood Highsmith and Caleb Martin attempted to confront Hauser, Celtics guards Payton Pritchard and Jrue Holiday intervened to defend their teammate.

Tensions did not reach the level of Game 1, when Jaylen Brown confronted Martin over his harsh foul on Celtics star Jayson Tatum. But former Celtics guard Eddie House still liked the message the C’s sent during the trade en route to a 104-84 victory this gave Boston a 2–1 lead in the first inning.

“We were more physical, we were more aggressive. Sometimes you have to intimidate the bully, and sometimes I feel like we did that,” House said on NBC Sports Boston. Celtics postgame live, as seen in the video above. “They were still skilled and got away with it, but I liked the scrum… the energy in the building when Tyler Herro threw the ball to Sam Hauser.

“I wasn’t mad at what Sam did. I know it wasn’t intentional, but it was just one of those physical plays, and then Payton got in Tyler Herro’s face and then it continued. I like stuff like that because it’s showing us : ‘We will not back down. We will not give up on you'”.

The Celtics have an overwhelming talent advantage in this series, but fell in Game 2 when the Heat imposed their will physicallypushing C’s big man Kristaps Porzingis in particular and setting the tone in the early stages of the game.

On Saturday, Boston sent a definitive response, increasing its defensive intensity to limit Miami to 41.6 percent shooting from the floor and 32.1 percent shooting from 3-point range (9-for-28) with 12 turnovers of its own. floor.

“The word around the Celtics was you could beat them up if you got physical with them,” House added. “If you change that narrative like the Boston Celtics, there’s nothing any team in this league can do to you.”

The Celtics will look to carry Saturday’s momentum into Game 4 in Miami, which is scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m. ET. NBC Sports Boston’s Mike Gorman and Brian Scalabrine will be on the conference call with Celtics pregame live starting at 6pm ET.