USA Today via Reuters

After getting blown out in Saturday’s Game 3 in front of their fans at the Kaseya Center, the Miami Heat are looking for redemption tonight. With Jimmy Butler still out due to his MCL injury, the Heat are hoping to sneak a win against the Boston Celtics, and level the series at 2-2 before heading back to Boston. And to help them achieve their massive goal, even legends from the soccer world showed up to the arena, to shower their support on the Heat squad.

As the Heat prepared to take on the Celtics in Game 5, several Inter Miami superstars and FC Barcelona legends graced the Kaseya Center with their presence including Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and the 2022 FIFA World Cup Winner Lionel Messi. While Messi dawned a casual look with a clean denim jacket, Busquets and Suarez were repping the Miami Heat with their outfits. Suarez wore a black ‘Heat Culture’ jersey with his name on the back and the iconic Number 9. Meanwhile, Busquets wore a white Heat hoodie to the game.

Formerly playing together and achieving greatness in Barcelona, the Barca legends teamed up once again last year in Inter Miami. With Messi being the first to make the historic move to the MLS, Alba, Busquets and Suarez followed in his footsteps soon after. Joining the team in December last year, the Uruguayan striker, Suarez, was the last piece of the puzzle. And it is a joy for soccer fans around the world to see their idols back together not only on the field, but also outside work, enjoying playoff basketball in Miami.

The Heat struggle despite Lionel Messi and Co.’s support

With Lionel Messi and Co. pulling up to the arena, Miami fans believed the Heat would show out in front of the crowd and get an improbable win. However, things went downhill quick for the Heat, as they got outscored 24-34 in the first quarter. Not only that, Boston’s dominance continued in the second quarter, outscoring Miami once again 12-19. Moreover, the beatdown was not at the hands of Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown.

Instead, Derrick White emerged as the unlikely hero in the first half, scoring 22 points in just twenty minutes. Shooting an efficient eight of thirteen from the field and swishing six of his nine shots from beyond the arc, White silenced the Kaseya Center instantly as the Celtics took a 53-36 lead at halftime.

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On the other hand, no one from the Heat squad except Bam Adebayo had double-digit points in the first half. Adebayo’s twelve points and nine rebounds were not enough to help Miami stay in the game. Now, if the Heat continue their poor form in the second half, they will go down 3-1 in the series at the end of the night. And there might be no coming back from that deficit in Jimmy Butler’s absence. Do you think the Heat can bounce back to take Game 4 at home in front of Lionel Messi and Co.?