Celtics defense controls Game 2 to even series, other takeaways from Heat’s blowout loss
Five takeaways from the top-seeded Miami Heat’s 127-102 blowout loss to the second-seeded Boston Celtics on Thursday night at FTX Arena. The Eastern Conference finals is tied 1-1, with Game 3 set for Saturday in Boston:
The Celtics’ defense was the story of Game 2.
After a disappointing performance by the Celtics’ usually elite defense in Game 1, the unit returned to form to dominate the first half on Thursday.
The Heat totaled just 45 points on 40.9 percent shooting from the field and 6-of-19 (31.6 percent) shooting on threes in the first two quarters.
“We know what they are capable of defensively,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They have done this to some very good offenses. I’m sure they were not happy about us putting up 118 in Game 1. They came out and were very disruptive and got us out of our normal rhythm and flow, and then the shot making on the other end, you know, was very tough to overcome.”
The Heat began the night strong by making seven of its first 10 shots to take a 10-point lead, but made just 11 of its next 34 shots (32.4 percent) to close the first half.
The result for Miami was an alarming 70-45 deficit entering halftime. The 25-point lead at the break is the Celtics’ largest halftime lead in a road playoff game in franchise history.
“They came out and hit us in the mouth,” said Heat center Bam Adebayo, who was limited to just six points on six shots in Game 2.
The Heat’s offense was better in the second half, as the Celtics’ defense loosened a bit with the teams emptying the bench in the fourth quarter. But the first half was so bad that it didn’t matter.
Thursday’s 25-point defeat at FTX Arena marked just the fourth home playoff game in franchise history that the Heat has lost by 25 or more points.
With two of the Celtics’ best defenders Al Horford (health and safety protocols) and Marcus Smart (sprained right foot) back after missing Game 1, Boston’s defense looked more like the unit that closed the regular season with the NBA’s top defensive rating.
The Celtics were the only team in the league that switched more screens than the Heat this regular season. Boston’s switching bogged down Miami’s offense on Thursday.
“I think we changed the way we played,” said Heat guard Gabe Vincent, who scored 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from deep in the loss. “Obviously, they’re a very effective defensive team. They flattened us out. The ball got stagnant. We didn’t move it as much and we saw the result of that when they went on their run.”
The Celtics’ lineup of Smart, Jaylen Brown, Horford, Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard was especially effective in slowing the Heat’s offense. That group held Miami to 85.7 points per 100 possessions in 10 minutes together in Game 2.
The Heat’s half-court offense, as expected based on the team’s overall numbers, was not good on Thursday. Miami’s half-court offense has been shaky throughout the season and it produced just 86.5 points per 100 half-court plays in Game 2.
The Heat is 10-19 this season when finishing with a half-court offensive rating of worse than 90 points per 100 plays.
Smart, who was named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year this season, finished with 24 points, nine rebounds, 12 assists, three steals and one block.
Horford, who is still a quality defender who can guard multiple positions at 35 years old, ended the night with 10 points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.
“We are facing a very good defense, so we have to do things with great detail, with purpose,” Spoelstra said. “They can flatten you out, just like we can flatten teams out. This is the thing about competition. We have two really good defensive teams. When we are at our best, we can make them look a certain way and they definitely made us look a certain way tonight.”
Not even Jimmy Butler or the third quarter could save the Heat.
The Heat took total control and won Game 1 because it outscored the Celtics 39-14 in the third quarter to turn an eight-point halftime deficit into a 17-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
In fact, the Heat entered Game 2 of the East finals outscoring teams by an NBA-best 7.8 points per game in the third quarter this postseason.
Butler, who has arguably been the NBA’s best player in this year’s playoffs, tried to will the Heat back into the game with 16 points in Thursday’s third quarter.
Butler sparked a 19-7 run in the period to cut a 29-point deficit to 17 with 3:08 left. But the Celtics responded by closing the quarter on a 12-4 run to enter the fourth quarter with a 25-point lead.
The third period ended in a 26-26 tie. The Heat and Celtics actually played the second half to a 57-57 tie.
But considering that Boston entered the second half with a 25-point lead, that wasn’t nearly enough to make the Celtics sweat.
Butler entered Thursday averaging an incredible 29.8 points on 53.5 percent shooting from the field, 7.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.3 steals this postseason. He finished Game 2 with a game-high 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 shooting from the foul line, six rebounds and three assists, as Smart spent most of the game as Butler’s primary defender.
Heat starting forward P.J. Tucker has been playing this postseason through multiple injuries, but a knee injury forced him to exit Game 2 early.
Tucker, 37, left Thursday’s loss with 7:28 left in the third quarter because of a left knee contusion and did not return.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported after the game that Tucker will undergo an MRI on his left knee Friday morning.
“I don’t have an update right now,” Spoelstra said after the game when asked about Tucker. “If you ask him, he says he’s good to go. We’ll just have to see tomorrow. I’ll talk to the trainers.”
This news comes just days after Tucker turned his right ankle and briefly left Game 1 before returning. He also has been battling a strained right calf since the final days of the regular season.
With starting point guard Kyle Lowry missing his fourth straight game on Thursday because of a strained left hamstring that has also forced him to miss eight of the last 10 games in the playoffs, losing Tucker for any amount of time would be painful for the Heat.
Tucker is one of Miami’s most important players for a multitude of reasons. For one, he has been used as Tatum’s primary defender to start the series.
“If he’s not ready to go, everybody else has to be ready to go,” Butler said regarding Tucker. “Those are some even bigger shoes to have to fill because he does it on the defensive end. We’re capable of it, though.”
Although Lowry continues to go through pre-game workouts, there’s no clear timetable for his return. Now Tucker’s status is up in the air.
Further clarity on Lowry and Tucker’s status for Saturday’s Game 3 at TD Garden will be provided on the injury report, which the Heat is required to issue by 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
The Heat will fly to Boston on Friday afternoon.
Game 2 also represented Miami’s worst defensive performance of the season.
While the Heat’s offense has had its ups and downs throughout the season, there haven’t been many duds for the defense.
Thursday was a defensive dud for Miami.
The Celtics torched the Heat’s defense for 127 points on 51.2 percent shooting from the field, 20-of-40 (50 percent) shooting on threes and 21-of-23 (91.3 percent) shooting from the foul line while committing just 10 turnovers.
After Celtics star Jayson Tatum scored just eight points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field in the second half of Game 1, he totaled 27 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range, five rebounds and five assists in Thursday’s Game 2 win.
Brown, Tatum’s co-star, finished with 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 shooting on threes.
The Heat, which closed the regular season with the NBA’s fourth-best defensive rating, allowed 135.1 points per 100 possessions in Game 2.
How bad is that number? It’s the Heat’s worst single-game defensive rating of the season.
“We damn sure didn’t guard anybody, and when we don’t do that, that’s a trend all year long,” Butler said. “When we’re not making shots, we’re not guarding anybody. So we need to fix that once again where we worry about defense first. The offense will come.”
The Celtics haven’t lost consecutive games often in recent months and the Heat hasn’t dropped many games in recent weeks. Boston’s trend continued, but Miami’s did not.
With Thursday’s bounce-back win after Tuesday’s loss, the Celtics have only lost consecutive games once since the start of February. That came on March 28 and 30.
Boston is 8-1 following a loss during that stretch.
“I think our guys have bounced back really well all year, especially in the second half of the year,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said. “Haven’t lost a lot of two games in a row in a while, and I think obviously adding Marcus and Al back gave us a little boost as far as that.”
Meanwhile, Thursday marked the Heat’s first loss at FTX Arena since falling to the Brooklyn Nets on March 26. The Game 2 defeat ended Miami’s 10-game winning streak at home.
The Heat is 7-1 at home this postseason.
This story was originally published May 20, 2022 at 12:30 AM.
