Heat catch fire, bomb Celtics with 23 treys
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The Miami Heat unleashed a barrage of three-pointers to score a series-leveling 111-101 upset over the top-seeded Boston Celtics in their National Basketball Association (NBA) Eastern Conference playoff duel.
Eighth seeds Miami, playing without the injured Jimmy Butler, produced a battling performance to knot the best-of-seven-series at 1-1 as teams head back to Florida for Game 3 on Saturday.
Tyler Herro led the Miami scoring with 24 points, part of a balanced offensive effort that saw all five Heat starters post double-digit points.
But the key to the Miami victory was their accuracy from long-range, with the Heat draining 23 three-pointers from 43 attempts compared to Boston’s 12 of 32.
Herro knocked down six threes while Caleb Martin added five in his tally of 21 points.
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 win was all the more unexpected given Miami’s 20-point drubbing by Boston in Game 1 on Sunday — something Herro said had motivated the Heat for Game 2.
“We lost badly in game one and everybody responded tonight, and that’s all you can ask for from a group of guys,” Herro said afterwards.
Herro revealed that he had been encouraged by Butler to take on a leadership role in the absence of the injured Miami talisman.
“Just before this series, JB (Butler) texted me to take the team and you know lead these guys, just make every right play,” Herro said.
‘We don’t even want to mention last year, this year is a whole new year.’
“It’s not all about scoring, (in) the playoffs you gotta make the right play. Our guys showed up tonight — Caleb Martin, Nikola, Jaime.”
It was another trademark display of defiance from the Heat, who are aiming to emulate their playoff run of last season when they reached 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.