Podcast: Bam becomes legend, Herro’s a ‘killer’ and Heat steals Game 1 to take upper hand
The Miami Heat was close to dead over and over again in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics. The Heat started slow after having a full week off and fell behind by 13 points in the first quarter. Even after Miami battled back, the Heat fell behind again by 14 in the fourth.
Somehow, Miami still finished Tuesday with a 1-0 series lead on the Celtics. Tyler Herro sparked a comeback, Jimmy Butler hit two potential game-winning shots in the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter and overtime and Bam Adebayo punched his name into Heat lore by stuffing a dunk attempt by Jayson Tatum in the waning seconds of overtime to preserve Miami’s 117-114 upset win in the first game of the NBA Conference Finals.
The Heat stole a game it probably shouldn’t have won, and now Miami has the upper hand on Boston to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014.
How much does landing the first punch in the Conference finals mean? The Heat Check podcast tries to sort through a wild series-opening win and look ahead to what it means heading into Game 2 on Thursday and beyond. David Wilson and Anthony Chiang, the Heat beat writer for the Miami Herald, analyze what was encouraging and what wasn’t from the Heat’s overtime victory in Lake Buena Vista.
Let’s start with the good: basically everything the Heat did in the fourth quarter and overtime. Miami outscored Boston by 12 in the fourth quarter, Herro brushed up against a triple-double with a clutch three-pointer with 1:02 left in regulation, Butler hit a go-ahead three in the fourth and then made a game-winning and-one in overtime, and Adebayo made one of the most impressive defensive plays in Heat history — and of the 2020 NBA playoffs so far — to seal the win at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Considering the first quarter was Miami’s worst shooting period of the NBA playoffs so far and its third was even lower scoring, the Heat’s improbable victory could potentially swing the series.
The bad, though, was baked in: The Celtics outplayed Miami for long stretches of the game, particularly in those two quarters, and won despite a bad night by Kemba Walker.
The Heat threw double teams at the All-Star point guard all game and often sat back in a zone, and Boston didn’t quite punish Miami. In this battle between two of the best coaches in basketball, Celtics coach Brad Stevens will certainly have a counterpunch ready and coach Erik Spoelstra will have to be ready with one of his own.
It has the makings of a long series in Walt Disney World and eking out a close win like the Heat did Tuesday could prove to be the difference.
