The Boston Celtics took on the Miami Heat last night in a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals that went to Game 7. A lot of people knew this would be a good game, but I wonder how many people thought the game would play out eerily similar to most of the games in the series last year. Within the first two minutes, the Celtics had two poor turnovers to start the game. Jayson Tatum lost possession of the ball and then Marcus Smart stepped out of bounds in the corner. In the ECF, it was the turnovers that hurt the Celtics who would build a solid lead before turning over the ball carelessly and letting the Heat ride the momentum to get themselves back into the game.
The Celtics not only started the game by turning the ball over, but they missed their first six three-point attempts. Boston kept getting open looks from deep, but they were also making it a point to attack the paint. By them staying aggressive by trying to get the offensive rebound and fighting over screens set by Miami’s Bam Adebayo, the Celtics would get the Heat’s big man in foul trouble early. When Adebayo was subbed to the bench, the corner three for the Celtics became wide open as Al Horford exploited the weakness in Miami’s defense and drained a three to take the lead. Not only was the corner three open, but with Bam out, the paint opened up and the Celtics were able to get to the rim with ease not worrying about Bam contesting their shot at the rim. Jaylen Brown was one of the players to take advantage of the big man being out. Brown scored 9 points, grabbed 2 rebounds, and dished out 3 assists in the first quarter. Brown said after the game on Adebayo’s early foul trouble, “Bam is their rim protector. I would say he’s their only rim protector in a sense.” Boston was able to take a two-point lead after the first quarter 30-28.
Boston was able to start the second quarter strong opening the quarter on an 11-4 run in the first four minutes. The Heat would then go on their own run by making seven straight shots. Bam who came back on the floor kept up his perfect shooting and added fuel to Miami’s run. The C’s were able to keep Miami at bay and it was the dirty work by Noah Vonleh who secured Boston second chance opportunities and a couple of baskets. The half would continue to be a back-and-forth battle with Tyler Herro scoring eight straight points for Miami to close the gap to five points. The C’s would be able to hold onto the lead going into the half up 59-51.
In last year’s ECF, it was the third quarter where the Celtics would let the game get away from them with careless turnovers that ended up costing the Celtics a couple of games. Last night, it was like Déjá Vu. The Celtics would constantly turn the ball over early in the quarter and commit careless fouls. The Heat went on an 8-0 run and were in the bonus with 8:11 left to play. The Heat thrived off of the turnovers and was locked in defensively. The Celtics had 10 total turnovers with seven minutes left of the quarter. The Heat went on another run this time to tie it up at 69 a piece. The Celtics, when they did not turn the ball over, were able to get good looks and make plays. The Celtics were able to force Bam to pick up his fourth foul which sent him back to the bench, in addition, Bam would be given a technical foul for arguing against the call. Jayson Tatum and the Celtics would take advantage of Bam being out again with Tatum scoring six straight points to regain the lead with four minutes left in the third. Tatum scored 12 points in the third quarter alone. The Celtics regained the momentum after the technical foul and would go on a 10-2 run to finish the quarter leading 89-77.
In the fourth quarter, you could tell both teams wanted to win. Each of them making the right play. The Celtics stuck to their principles by pushing the ball every chance they got to make it hard on Miami’s transition defense. The Celtics were able to obtain a 14-point lead with eight minutes left. Jaylen Brown was the catalyst for the Celtics in the early fourth quarter until he picked up his fifth foul and was subbed out at the 5:44 mark with 28 points on 12-18 shooting. During last year’s playoffs, if Brown were to pick up his fifth foul there is no doubt he would eventually check back into the game. This year, however, the Celtics have more depth and were able to close out the quarter without their all-star. The Celtics had Brogdon, Smart, Tatum, Williams, and Horford out on the floor. The Heat had their moments, continuing to force the Celtics into turnovers and going on a 9-0 run of their own with 3:30 left to make it 100-95. However, it would not be enough as Tatum continued his hot start to the season by ending the run by making two consecutive baskets and being aggressive to try and get to the free throw line. Tatum scored 29 points in the game and was able to close the game out despite the team turning the ball over 20 times to win the game 111-104.
The Celtics will play their second game of the back-to-back tonight in Orlando to take on the young and upcoming Magic who will open up their season in front of their fans for the first time this year. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 pm.
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