Blowout loss to Celtics, first five-game skid since 2021. Takeaways from Heat’s ‘humbling night’
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 143-110 blowout loss to the Boston Celtics (35-10) on the back end of a back-to-back set Thursday night at Kaseya Center to close its quick two-game homestand at 0-2. The Heat (24-21), which has lost five straight games, now hits the road for a matchup against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon:
The Heat’s offense has been the problem for the last few weeks. But the defense was the issue against the Celtics, as the Heat now faces its longest losing streak in nearly three years.
The Heat is in the middle of its first five-game skid since dropping six straight games in March 2021.
The Heat’s offense has been the primary reason behind its recent struggles, entering Thursday with the NBA’s 28th-ranked offensive rating and fifth-ranked defensive rating in January.
But the Heat’s problem on Thursday was on the defensive end.
The Heat scored more than 100 points for just the second time in the last six games, and shot 44.7 percent from the field and 38.1 percent on threes while committing only five turnovers. The Heat still lost by more than 30 points.
That’s because the Celtics, which entered with the league’s third-ranked offensive rating for the season, put on an offensive clinic.
“It was a humbling night, that’s for sure,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They put us in our place tonight and you do have to respect the body of work that they’ve done so far in this season.”
Boston totaled 143 points on 63.7 percent shooting from the field, 22-of-40 (55 percent) shooting from three-point range and 19-of-20 (95 percent) shooting from the foul line.
The Celtics’ 143 points are the third-most points the Heat has allowed in any game in franchise history.
The 33-point loss is also the Heat’s most lopsided defeat since a 34-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on May 24, 2021. It’s the Heat’s most lopsided home defeat since a 47-point loss to the Bucks on Dec. 29, 2020.
On top of all that, the Heat allowed 149 points per 100 possessions on Thursday for its worst single-game defensive rating since at least the 1996-97 season.
“There were bad switches, the help was bad, the contests were bad, the close outs were bad,” Heat star Jimmy Butler said. “It was just all bad. It didn’t matter if we were switching or in a drop, we weren’t running anybody off the line. We weren’t making them miss. So any coverage that we decided to throw out there, we didn’t do it as players.”
The Celtics’ offense set the tone from the start, scoring 42 points in the first quarter. The Celtics then scored another 35 points in the second quarter.
The Celtics racked up 77 points on 64.3 percent shooting from the field, 11-of-22 (50 percent) shooting on threes and 12-of-12 shooting from the foul line while committing just five turnovers in the first two quarters to enter halftime with a 13-point lead.
It only got worse for the Heat from there, as the Celtics opened the third quarter on a 21-12 run to push their lead to 22 points just five minutes into the period.
The Celtics scored 36 points in the third quarter to enter the fourth quarter with 113 points and a 23-point lead.
It marked just the fourth time in Heat history that it has allowed 113 or more points through three quarters.
The Celtics’ lead grew to as many as 34 points in the fourth quarter.
The Heat’s only lead of the night came at 2-0, as the Celtics led by double digits for most of the night.
Seven Celtics players finished with double-digit points, led by 26 points from Jayson Tatum.
Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro each scored a team-high 19 points for the Heat. Butler added 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 shooting on threes.
The Heat was without two rotation players on Thursday, missing Jaime Jaquez Jr. (strained left groin) and Kevin Love (stomach illness).
While the Heat lost its fifth straight game on Thursday, the Celtics improved to an NBA-best 35-10 this season. The Heat and Celtics have met in the Eastern Conference finals in each of the last two seasons, but the two teams are going in opposite directions at the moment.
In his second game as a member of the Heat, Rozier was moved into the starting lineup.
The Heat played Rozier off the bench in his debut for Wednesday’s home loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, giving him one game to acclimate before stepping into a starting role on Thursday.
Rozier opened Thursday’s game in a Heat starting lineup that also included Herro, Butler, Haywood Highsmith and Adebayo. It marked the Heat’s 25th different starting unit through the first 45 games of the season.
Rozier, who the Heat traded Kyle Lowry and a first-round pick to acquire on Tuesday, finished his second game in a Heat uniform with seven points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field and 1-of-4 shooting on threes, two rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes.
“It’s clear to see the positives with Terry,” Spoelstra said. “He brings us a burst, a speed, a quickness, his ability to get into the paint. I think that’s going to continue to get better once he understands how important it is to our offense and how we want him to be him and be aggressive.”
This new Heat starting unit faced a tough test in its first game together, as the Celtics’ starting lineup of Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis is one of the best combinations in the NBA.
The Heat’s starting lineup featuring Rozier opened the game by falling in a 17-12 hole before Spoelstra turned to the bench for the first time.
The Celtics then outscored the Heat’s starting lineup 23-15 to begin the third quarter before Spoelstra made his first substitution of the second half.
The Heat’s new starting lineup finished the loss with a plus/minus of minus 14 in 13 minutes together.
Butler spoke about the Heat’s trade for Rozier for the first time following Thursday’s loss.
“I mean, I think it can be a positive thing,” Butler said of Rozier. “A new face, yes. The scoring that he brings, the leadership that he brings, he’s played in the playoffs a bunch with the opposing team. And I mean, he’s just a hell of a player. He’s smiling and he’s happy. I think that’s going to become very, very contagious.”
As for losing Lowry in the trade, Butler made clear they remain close friends. Lowry is the godfather of Butler’s daughter, Rylee, who was born in October 2019.
“That’s my brother, like I tell everybody,” Butler said. “Basketball is not going to change the bond that we have, the bond that we both have with each other’s children. It’s always a family vibe with him. I can call him, I can show up at his house at any point in time. Basketball hasn’t defined me, hasn’t defined him and it won’t.”
The All-Star slump continues. The last Heat player who started in the NBA All-Star Game is still Dwyane Wade and it came in 2016.
As expected, the Heat did not have a player voted into the 2024 NBA All-Star Game as a starter when they were announced Thursday night on TNT.
Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton and Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard are the two Eastern Conference guards who were voted in as starters, with Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Tatum and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid as the three East frontcourt players who made the cut.
The Heat’s top two candidates for the Feb. 18 All-Star Game, which will take place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, are Adebayo and Butler. Adebayo and Butler are both considered frontcourt players on the All-Star ballot.
The next question is: Will Adebayo and/or Butler make this season’s All-Star Game as a reserve?
Head coaches will select the seven reserves from each conference, which will be announced on Feb. 1 on TNT. The seven reserve spots usually include three frontcourt players, two guards and two additional players regardless of position.
Thursday’s matchup against the Celtics marked the start of a week-long stretch of tough games for the Heat.
Beginning with Thursday’s loss to the Celtics, the Heat plays four straight games against teams with winning records.
The Heat’s next three games come against the Knicks in New York on Saturday, Phoenix Suns in Miami on Monday and Sacramento Kings in Miami on Wednesday.
“I know that this will change, this too shall pass, however you want to put it,” Butler said. “But we got to go out there and do it. And it’s not going to get any easier, I’ll tell you that.”
Thursday’s loss dropped the Heat to 5-13 against teams that entered the day with a winning record.
This story was originally published January 25, 2024 at 9:56 PM.
