Heat, Celtics both see ways to improve

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — On the first off day of this season’s Eastern Conferencefinals, it mighthavebeen difficult to tell Wednesday which team was holding the 1-0 lead in the series.

Based on what was said after practices anyway.

“We need to play better,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.

“We’ll look to play better,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said.

TheirsentimentsWednesday were about as close as Game 1 was Tuesday night, when the Heat rallied from 14 points down in the fourth quarter and — bolstered by a game-saving block by Bam

Adebayo of a Jayson Tatum dunk attempt in the final seconds of overtime — took the series opener with a 117-114 victory.

Game2is Thursday, when the Heat will try to improve to 10-1 in this postseason and the Celtics look to avoid a 0-2 series hole, something even a franchise with the postseason lore of Boston has only managed to do once in eight tries this deep into a postseason. Miami wasn’t thrilled in Game 1 with bad first and third quarters; Boston’s area of focus was obviously how the game got away down the stretch.

“You just have to continue to keep the task at hand,” Spoelstra said. “Obviously, this is a super-competitive series. We were down (14) and it was for a reason.

“I mentioned that after the game. They were playing well, getting us out of what we typically do. It’s highlevel competitionandyoucan expect a big-time response from them.”

Notsurprisingly, of course, that is whatBostonisseeking in Game2.

The Celtics let the Heat be the aggressors in the final 16 minutes of the series opener, getting outscored 46-29 in that game-ending span as Miami shot 65% from the field to Boston’s 38%. Miami also took17free throwstothe Celtics’ five.

“I think we’ve got a lot of improvements to make on defense,” Boston’s Jaylen Brown said. “I think we’ll make them” on Thursday.

Adebayo’s play at the rim notwithstanding, the Heat also saw improvements they could make.

But his play is still one that has Miami marveling.

Adebayo said Wednesday that the coolest feedback he got on the play was a tweet from Magic Johnson, who called the block “the best defensive play I’ve seen ever in the playoffs!!!!”

Dwyane Wade reached out with a text as well, as he has at many times in these playoffs, and Heat President Pat Riley told Adebayo that he would make sure the play gets immortalized — as most other top plays in team history have — with a giant image slapped on a wall of the team’s complex back in Miami.

“Bam is a great player,” Brown said. “Really carved out a space for himself in this league. Bamis set up for how the league is movingforward: big, athletic, can do multiple things. I just tip mycaptothe play he made.”

AddedHeatguardDuncan Robinson: “I had to watch it again and again to just capture how special of a play it was. But you know, he’s done that all year in different ways. Maybe not to that grandiose scale of as time is basically expiring, saving a possession like that, but he’s done it for us game in, game out every night. Freakish. It’s incredible.”

Before Tuesday, the Celtics were 29-6 this season when scoring at least 114 points. But after a 6-0 start to the postseason, Boston has dropped four of its last six games.