HeatCeltics is more than just the stars

BOSTON — The latest Eastern Conference finals pairing between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics will be a matchup that ultimately turns on the play of stars such as Jimmy Butler and Jayson Tatum.

But Miami’s 123-116 Game 1 victory also showed how the tactical battle between rookie coach Joe Mazzulla and veteran counterpart Erik Spoelstra will also play a major role.

The Celtics dominated the first two quarters Wednesday night before being outscored 46-25 in the third period — the most points they’ve given up in any playoff quarter in the last 25 years. It put Boston into 103-91 hole it never overcame.

The game-changing onslaught included a 13-1 run by the Heat to help tie the score in which Mazzulla made the decision to not call a timeout, something that has become a recurring theme for him this season because of his preference to let the Celtics play through rough patches.

“I don’t think it’s a challenge in the postseason, I think it’s human nature,” Mazzulla said Thursday when asked about his team’s tendencies to surrender leads this season. “So how are you able to get out of that and win that and just understanding your environment, understanding your opponent? It’s hard to do, but what we’re trying to do is really hard.”

After back-to-back series in which Boston has fallen into 0-1 holes, it has cast the spotlight back on the 34year-old, who was thrust into his dream job in the preseason and is now trying to find new ways to motivate a team with championship expectations.

Miami’s Spoelstra knows well what it’s like to be in that position.

The 52-year-old Spoelstra grew up in the Heat organization, rising from video coordinator to assistant coach to head coach at 38, and then successfully balanced the pressure of turning a team led by All-Stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh into back-to-back NBA champions.

During the last series, Mazzulla apologized to the team for not calling a timeout before its final possession in a Game 4 overtime loss to Philadelphia.

“He trusts us. At the end of the day, Joe trusts us,” Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon said.

That humility is why Spoelstra respects what Mazzulla has done to this point, going through the challenges of an NBA season.

“I think just going through the fire, going through the experiences,” Spoelstra said.

“Every situation is different. So, I don’t know what it’s like in this locker room, this building. But I have a lot of respect for Joe.”