Schedule / Lottery
MIAMI — Jimmy Butler scored 41 points, and the Miami Heat turned things around with a huge third quarter on the way to beating the short-handed Boston Celtics 118-107 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night.
Tyler Herro scored 18 and Gabe Vincent added 17 for the Heat, who outscored Boston 39-14 in the third quarter. Butler had 17 alone in the third, outscoring the Celtics by himself over those 12 minutes.
Max Strus scored 11 and Bam Adebayo added 10 for Miami.
Jayson Tatum scored 29 for the Celtics, who were without starters Marcus Smart (foot) and Al Horford (health and safety protocols). Jaylen Brown added 24 for Boston, which got 18 apiece from Robert Williams III and Payton Pritchard.
Game 2 is Thursday. Boston led by 13 in the first half and took a 62-54 lead into halftime. Whatever Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said during intermission clearly worked.
A 22-2 run was how Miami started the second half, the run punctuated by steals that led to baskets on three consecutive possessions. Strus had one, the next two by Butler pushed the lead out to 76-64, and the Heat were off and running.
The lead reached 96-76 when Herro was fouled on a 3-point try and made all three free throws early in the fourth.
Boston had a run left; a 10-0 spurt cut the deficit in half, and a 3-pointer from Tatum made it a nine-point game — outcome still very much in doubt — with 7:35 left.
But the Heat had a response. PJ Tucker answered Tatum’s 3 with one of his own. Brown then connected from deep to get Boston within single digits again, only to have that one answered by a 3 from Strus.
Some of the plans that both sides had for Game 1 were thrown away about 3 ½ hours before game time, when the Celtics revealed that Smart and Horford wouldn’t be playing. Smart’s absence was somewhat expected because of a midfoot sprain he suffered in Game 7 of the East semifinals against Milwaukee on Sunday.
Horford’s absence, was a surprise.
He entered the league’s health and safety protocols Tuesday afternoon, which ruled him out of Game 1 and quite possibly could keep him out for multiple games going forward. And it’s not clear if any other Celtics however, could need testing.
“I’m honestly unsure about that as of now,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said pregame.
Tip-ins
Celtics: Boston’s biggest lead was 13 points. The Celtics are now 46-7 this season in games in which it led by at least that many . ... Boston scored 18 points of the first 6 ½ minutes of the first half, then two points in the first 6 ½ minutes of the second half . ... The Celtics trailed for only 16 seconds in the first two quarters . ... Boston has dropped 17 of its last 26 East finals games.
Heat: Former Miami guard Goran Dragic was in attendance . ... This series is the 50th in Heat postseason history. They’re now 28-22 in Game 1s . ... Butler’s 15th point — a free throw 16 seconds into the second half — gave him 14,000 for his career, including playoffs. He’s the 220th NBA player to score that many . ... Miami missed its first seven shots. ... Tucker left in the second quarter to get his right ankle re-taped, then returned for the second half.
Best of seven; x- if necessary
Boston won series 4-3
Milwaukee 101, Boston 89 Boston 109, Milwaukee 86 Milwaukee 103, Boston 101 Boston 116, Milwaukee 108 Milwaukee 110, Boston 107 Boston 108, Milwaukee 95 Boston 109, Milwaukee 81
Miami won series 4-2
Miami 106, Philadelphia 92 Miami 119, Philadelphia 103 Philadelphia 99, Miami 79 Philadelphia 116, Miami 108 Miami 120, Philadelphia 85 Miami 99, Philadelphia 90
Miami 1, Boston 0 Tuesday: Miami 118, Boston 107
Thursday: Boston at Miami, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday: Miami at Boston, 6:30 p.m.
May 23: Miami at Boston, 6:30 p.m.
x-may 25: Boston at Miami, 6:30 p.m.
x-may 27: Miami at Boston, 6:30 p.m.
x-may 29: Boston at Miami, 6:30 p.m.
Dallas wons series 4-3 Phoenix 121, Dallas 114
Phoenix 129, Dallas 109
Dallas 103, Phoenix 94
Dallas 111, Phoenix 101
Phoenix 110, Dallas 80
Dallas 113, Phoenix 86
Dallas 123, Phoenix 90
Golden State won series 4-2
Memphis 106, Golden State 101 Golden State 142, Memphis 112 Golden State 101, Memphis 98 Memphis 134, Golden State 95 Golden State 110, Memphis 96
Dallas vs. Golden State Today: Dallas at Golden State, 7 p.m.
Friday: Dallas at Golden State, 7 p.m.
Sunday: Golden State at Dallas, 7 p.m.
May 24: Golden State at Dallas, 7 p.m.
x-may 26: Dallas at Golden State, 7 p.m.
x-may 28: Golden State at Dallas, 7 p.m.
x-may 30: Dallas at Golden State, 6 p.m.
1. Magic, 2. Thunder, 3. Rockets, 4. Kings,
5. Pistons, 6. Pacers, 7. Trail Blazers, 8. Pelicans, 9. Spurs, 10. Wizards, 11. Knicks,
12. Thunder, 13. Hornets, 14. Cavaliers
Block party
There were 20 blocked shots in the game — 12 by Miami, eight by Boston.
Second best (and worst)
The 25-point differential in the third quarter was the second-best for the Heat and the second-worst for the Celtics this season. Miami outscored Charlotte by 27 in the third quarter on Feb. 5. Boston was outscored by 28 points in the fourth quarter by Chicago on Nov. 1.