Second-quarter collapse, poor shooting doom Heat
It had been nearly a perfect start to the season for the Miami Heat.
But that changed Thursday night, when the Boston Celtics (4-5) crushed the Heat 95-78 at FTX Arena. Heat starting point guard Kyle Lowry also sprained his left ankle in the final seconds of the third quarter and did not return.
Miami (6-2) entered outscoring opponents by an NBA-high 16.7 points per game, with its first
loss of the season coming in overtime at the Indiana Pacers.
The Heat’s offense entered as the secondmost efficient unit in the NBA, but was limited to 78 points on 34.6 percent shooting from the field and 9-of-41 (22 percent) shooting on threes on Thursday. Miami also committed 18 turnovers.
After entering the second quarter with a sixpoint lead, the Heat was outscored 77-54 the rest of the way.
The Heat made a run in the third quarter to trim a 20-point deficit to eight with 2:30 left in the period. But the Celtics closed the quarter on an 11-1 run to regain control and enter the fourth quarter up by 18 points.
The Heat’s trio of Bam Adebayo (13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, seven rebounds and four assists), Jimmy Butler (20 points on 8-of-18 shooting, four rebounds and two assists) and Lowry (six points on 2-of-9 shooting, seven rebounds and five assists) combined for 39 points on 40 percent shooting.
Tyler Herro, who entered averaging 22.4 points, was limited to six points on 3-of-11 shooting.
The Heat’s defense wasn’t bad, as it held the Celtics to 39.7 percent shooting.
Next up for the Heat is a Saturday night matchup against the 7-1 Utah Jazz at FTX Arena.