The Miami Heat are a tough nut to crack. Despite finishing eighth in the regular season, Erik Spoelstra’s team is an uncomfortable rival, as the Celtics are suffering firsthand. In the second game of the tie, the current NBA runners-up, still without Jimmy Butler, assaulted the Garden (101-111) with a festival from the perimeter (23 triples). After the two clashes in Massachusetts, the tie travels to Florida evenly matched and with the home court factor favorable to the Heat.
Miami focused its hopes on the outside shot and it came out right, as they scored 23 of the 43 they shot, a record in the history of the franchise in the playoffs. They also cemented their victory on defense, especially in the second half. The Celtics, after the break, only managed 40 points.
In Boston, Jaylen Brown performed, with 33 points, and Jayson Tatum, with 28. However, the St. Louis player faded as the minutes passed, as he scored half of his points in the first quarter. Porzingis perfectly represented the downturn in attack of the Massachusetts franchise, as the Latvian, neutralized by Adebayo, scored only six points, with a dismal one of nine in field goals.
Quite the opposite in the Heat. Spoelstra’s team, the highest paid coach in the NBA, shined from the perimeter guided by Tyler Herro. The Miami guard led his team with 24 points and 14 assists, taking over for the injured Butler. In addition, Caleb Martin, Boston’s number 1 enemy, also shone. The Heat player converted five of the six triples he launched, to reach 21 points. In his playoff career, the forward averages 6 points and 34% on three-pointers. However, against the Celtics, his statistics grow to 13 points and almost 49% from the three-point line.
Beyond the two of them, Adebayo, with 21 points and 10 rebounds, the Mexican Jáquez, with 14 points, and Nikola Jovic, with 11 and nine rebounds, were also essential for the Florida team. The losses did not influence a choral team that grows in key moments.
The Celtics, who had only lost four games at TD Garden this season, lose the home court factor against a team that is really uncomfortable for them. In the last five years, this one included, they have met four times in the playoffs, and the Heat have beaten them twice, in 2020 and, above all, in 2023, when those from Massachusetts were very favorites.
This year, Joe Mazzulla’s team is once again the rival to beat in the East, even more so with the injury of Butler, a player who transforms in the playoffs. The Celtics, who have not won the ring since 2008, do not want to stumble over the same stone again. To do this, they will have to win a game at the Kaseya Center, because the Heat, without making much noise, have stolen the home court factor from the best team of the regular season.
