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Tyler Herro on Wednesday became the youngest player in NBA history to score at least 30 points off of the bench when he recorded a career-high 37 points to lead the Miami Heat to a 112-109 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Herro topped his previous playoff career-high of 22 points, set on Saturday in Game 3, to help the Heat to a 3-1 series lead and come just one win away from returning to the NBA Finals. Herro shot 14-of-21 from the field and 5-of-10 from 3-point range in 35 minutes of work.
The 37 points scored by Herro set the Heat franchise record by a rookie in a playoff game, topping the previous mark of 27 set by future Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade, who reacted on Twitter to the record-breaking performance by Herro.
It was a great record while it lasted 😆 https://t.co/U8Gp7g6SXl
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) September 24, 2020
What I love about what Herro Ball is doing… We all know this isn’t just a hot game. This is how he plays the game of basketball
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) September 24, 2020
Herro scored 17 points alone in the fourth quarter while he went 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-6 from 3-point range to help the Heat stave off the Celtics. He came up with a number of clutch buckets for the Heat and even did so with strong defenders matched up on him.
“Herro’s shot-making tonight, in addition to the things that were our own issues, was the difference in the game,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said after the game. “Herro was ridiculously good tonight. The rim must have looked like the ocean to him.”
Herro also tied Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor for the third-most consecutive playoff games by a rookie with at least 10 points scored as he has finished in double figures in each of his 13 postseason appearances this year. Herro entered Game 4 averaging 14.8 points per game.
The performance by Herro further proved that the rookie is not scared to take shots on the game’s biggest stage and that now appears like it will continue on into the NBA Finals with the Heat up 3-1 over the Celtics.
Game 5 is scheduled to tip-off Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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