Miami Heat’s Reserve Duncan Robinson Had A Redemption Night In Game 3 Victory Against Boston Celtics

Duncan Robinson finished with 22 points, the most since the 2022 NBA Playoffs

With Miami Heat’s superstar Jimmy Butler having a rare unproductive night, they relied on their role players to take a Game 3 victory against the Boston Celtics.

Gabe Vincent led the way with 29 points but reserve Duncan Robinson had himself a huge night. Robinson finished with 22 points which was the most points he scored in these playoffs but it’s also the most he scored since Game 1 in the first round of last year’s playoffs.

After going scoreless in the first quarter, he recorded 10 points in the second quarter and 12 in the fourth. He also recorded five 3-pointers, passing LeBron James for the most in Heat’s playoff history with 124. Robinson also had a lot of the game’s highlight plays, including drives to the rim through tough defenders.

But his best one took place in the second quarter. He threw an alley-oop dunk to Bam Adebayo, which set the crowd into a frenzy. Some fans have even called their two-man game elite due to their on-going chemistry in the game.

After the game, coach Erik Spoelstra said they have been practicing those connections for hours in practice.

“Yeah, it’s like five years of just, Malcolm Gladwell, the 10,000 hour rule,” Spoelstra said. “This is 10,000 hours of drilling with those two guys. A long time ago, forever.”

This kind of performance was a huge relief for Robinson, who’s season has been hampered with injuries. He only played 42 games this season and averaged six points. It’ll be a huge stretch to say he’ll repeat this in Game 4, considering how Butler goes off but anything is possible.

Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson. You can also check out his personal blog HERE.