No Butler proves no problem as Adebayo has double-double
Heat center Bam Adebayo drives against the Celtics’ Daniel Theis on Tuesday in Lake Buena Vista.
Yes, they can beat them too. Having already achieved Eastern Conference success with multiple victories this season over the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers, the Miami Heat got their breakthrough Tuesday night against the Boston Celtics.
Entering the season-series finale 0-2 against the Celtics, the Heat got a pair of late 3-pointers from Duncan Robinson to move to a 112-106 victory over Boston at Disney’s Wide World of Sports.
“They beat us two times in the regular season, so it’s important to just stand your ground instead of getting beat 3-0,” center Bam Adebayo said. “It was like, ‘We got to make a stand. We got to prove a point.’ ”
The victory kept the Heat afloat in the fight for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, 1 1⁄2 games behind the Celtics for that spot as well as a game ahead of the Indiana Pacers for the No. 4 seed.
“This couldn’t be two or three guys playing well,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “You were going to need several guys playing well and doing it over the course of 48 minutes.”
Which is what the Heat got, even in the injury absence of Jimmy Butler.
Adebayo powered the Heat with 21 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 11 of 18 from the line.
“We were down a max player, so my teammates relied on me,” Adebayo said.
Guard Goran Dragic added 20 points, before limping to the locker room at the finish. The Heat said postgame X-rays on his ankle were negative.
Robinson scored 21, with center Kelly Olynyk filling out the box score with 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
A Robinson 3-pointer with 3 minutes, 12 seconds to play put the Heat up, 105-98, with another making it 108-98 with 1:43 to go.
“Honestly, this one meant a lot,” Robinson said. “I’m from 45 minutes north of Boston. I grew up going to TD Garden.
“We played them multiple times and we haven’t done well. I haven’t done well. I was reminding myself of that constantly.”
Still, with a Heat turnover followed by a Kemba Walker 3-pointer with 13 seconds to play, the Celtics drew within 109-106. The Heat then put it away from the foul line.
Forward Jayson Tatum, who battled foul trouble, led the Celtics with 23 points.
The Heat led 33-28 after the first period, 63-51at halftime and 91-83 entering the fourth.
Five degrees of Heat Tuesday night’s game: from
1. Bam ram: Without Butler to load up on free throws, Adebayo took over in that aspect.
“He was just really, really Spoelstra said.
Adebayo’s career high for free throws entering the night was 15, earlier this season against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He eclipsed that total with 4:48 left in the third period, helping draw the fifth foul on Marcus Smart in the process, with Smart then fouling out with 3:46 left in the third.
When Adebayo attempted his 18th free throw late in the third, it matched the Celtics’ total to that stage.
“I feel like last game I didn’t do enough,” he said of Monday’s 107-103 loss to the Raptors. “I really lost sleep over it last night.
“So today I was like, ‘Look, I got to do everything I can for this team to win.’ And that’s sort of my mindset.” aggressive,” 2. Without Butler: With Butler sidelined by what the team termed right ankle soreness, Spoelstra moved Olynyk into the starting lineup instead of going small with Dragic or big with a return of Meyers Leonard.
The move opened a rotation spot for Derrick Jones Jr., who played only 16 seconds in Monday’s loss to the Raptors and 12:25 in Saturday’s 125-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Jones this time played as sixth man, with a first-quarter dunk his first points at the Disney restart. He later added a third-quarter 3-pointer, closing with six points in 20:51.
3. Olynyk again: The versatility of Olynyk again was on display, this time accounting for 14 points in the second period, scoring six and creating eight more off his three assists in the quarter.
For good measure, he also created a technical on Celtics forward Gordon Hayward after drawing a third-quarter charge.
“He made a lot of good reads for us,” Spoelstra said.
4. Nunn sense: It was yet another game when Kendrick Nunn basically played as a backcourt placeholder.
Instead, it was Tyler Herro providing a spark with 11 first-half points and then Dragic taking over from there.
With his double-figure scoring, Dragic tied Grant Long (283) for 10th place on the Heat’s all-time list. Next up is LeBron James, at 294 such games over his four seasons with the team.
5. Zone back: The Heat’s 2-3 zone made its Disney debut in the second period and then was back in the third. It allowed the Heat to buy time without Butler’s defensive presence.
The question remains whether it stands as a viable playoff option.