The Miami Heat unleashed a three-point barrage to score a 111-101 victory over the top-seeded Boston Celtics in their NBA Eastern Conference playoff showdown on Wednesday.
Eighth-seeded Miami, playing without injured Jimmy Butler, produced a fighting performance to knot the best-of-seven series at 1-1 as the teams return to Florida for Game 3 on Saturday.
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Tyler Herro led Miami’s scoring with 24 points, part of a balanced offensive effort that saw all five Heat starters post double-digit points.
But the key to Miami’s victory was their long-range accuracy, as the Heat made 23 three-pointers on 43 attempts, compared to Boston’s 12 of 32.
Herro knocked down six threes while Caleb Martin added five to his 21-point total.
Bam Adebayo also finished with 21 points while Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 14 and Nikola Jovic 11.
Boston, meanwhile, was led by 33 points from Jaylen Brown, with Jayson Tatum finishing with 28 in a losing effort.
The victory was even more unexpected considering Miami’s 20-point loss to Boston in Game 1 on Sunday — which Herro said had the Heat motivated for Game 2.
“We lost hard in the first game and everyone responded tonight, and that’s all you can ask of a group of guys,” Herro said afterward.
Herro revealed that he was encouraged by Butler to take on a leadership role in the absence of Miami’s injured talisman.
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“Right before that series, JB texted me to take the team and, you know, lead these guys, make every good play,” Herro said.
“It’s not just about scoring, (in) the playoffs you’ve got to make the right play. Our guys came in tonight – Caleb Martin, Nikola, Jaime. It was another show of defiance from Miami, which aims to emulate its playoff run from last season by reaching the NBA Finals after entering the postseason via the play-in tournament.
“We don’t even want to mention last year, this year is a whole new year,” Herro said.
“We feel like we have a great group of guys. We’re not fully healthy, but we have guys that want to play and want to be here to make a difference.
Boston star Tatum, meanwhile, said the Celtics expected a backlash after their comfortable Game 1 victory.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Tatum said. “There is a lot of history between these two franchises, especially recently.
“Regardless of the standings or who’s in or who’s out — it’s the playoffs … we get to play another one on Saturday — it should be fun.”
THUNDER CAP
While the Eastern Conference top seeds licked their wounds, there were no such problems for Boston’s Western Conference counterparts, Oklahoma City.
The No. 1-ranked Thunder took a 2-0 lead in their first-round series against the eighth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans with an emphatic 124-92 drubbing.
The Thunder took the lead early in the first quarter and remained in complete control throughout the game, holding a double-digit advantage starting in the second quarter that reached 34 points at one point late of the fourth quarter.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the scoring for Oklahoma City, finishing with 33 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field.
Chet Holmgren added 26 points while Jalen Williams added 21. Luguentz Dort added 15 points, including four three-pointers.
The result was in stark contrast to the first game, which went down to the wire before Oklahoma City won 94-92 on Sunday.
“In a seven-game series, we just have to take it day by day and try to get better every day,” Gilgeous-Alexander said afterward.
“And I think that’s what we did tonight.” We definitely had a better performance than in the first match and that’s our goal. Then we will take it. The series now heads to Game 3 in New Orleans on Saturday.
