MIAMI’S Tyler Herro, a 20-year-old rookie, poured in a career-high 37 points to lead the Heat in a Game 4 victory over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night. He scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Heat to a 112-109 victory and a 3-1 series lead . His 37 points are the most by a 20-year-old in the playoffs since Magic Johnson’s 42 in 1980. Only one other rookie has scored more than Herro and Johnson in a playoff game: Wilt Chamberlain. “Herro’s shotmaking tonight was the difference in the game,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters. “Herro was ridiculously good tonight.” Celtics fans need no reminder that Herro was potentially a coin flip away from being in Boston. The Heat won a tiebreaker for the 13th pick in last year’s draft, selecting Herro, who the Celtics reportedly coveted. Boston drafted 14th, another win in Pat Riley’s corner against rival executive Danny Ainge. Herro finished 14-for-21 from the field, converting half of his 10 three-point attempts and salvaging an otherwise abysmal offensive night for Miami. His Heat teammates collectively shot 35 percent. It was a gut-check performance from the University of Kentucky product, and the check cleared. The beauty of the kid’s shooting stroke was only outshined by the confidence with which he unfurled it. “I’m just blown away,” Miami’s Goran Dragic told ESPN of Herro’s first 30-point game since high school. “This kid is unbelievable. He’s not afraid of big moments. It’s not the first time he’s shown this kind of a game. We’ve known all season he can ball. You can see he’s an unbelievable talent.” Heat star Jimmy Butler found Herro for a cutting layup that gave them a 107-98 lead with less than a minute remaining, but the Celtics cut the deficit to 109-107 with 9.2 seconds left on three-pointers from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and a trio of free throws by Kemba Walker. Boston would get no closer, running out of time as Butler sank three of his four free-throw attempts down the stretch. (SD-Agencies) | 