The Miami Heat played from behind from start to finish Monday night as a 110-105 loss was the result of a failed comeback against the Boston Celtics.
Without Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson or Rodney McGruder, it was evident that this would be an uphill battle for the Miami Heat. They would also go on to lose Derrick Jones Jr. before the second half. With their backs against the wall, the Heat couldn’t have imagined a slower start.
A 15-2 run for the Celtics turned into a 30-10 start. Things continued to get out of the hand in the second quarter as the Heat trailed by 23 points.
Their rhythm on the offensive end was shaky. It didn’t matter if it was Goran Dragic trying to send it into Bam Adebayo or Dion Waiters looking for Kelly Olynyk, the Heat lacked connection on their passing.
It took a strong defensive effort in the second quarter that would eventually dictate the pace of the offense. Forcing turnovers the Heat were able to push in transition and passes became easier to receive.
Dragic scored a season-high 30-points thanks to a second-half effort where the Dragon’s penetration to the paint opened up the Heat’s offense.
While the Celtics were forced to focus on the drive, they were unable to also keep a lock on Adebayo. With perfect lobs from Dragic and Dwyane Wade, Adebayo started to attempt to break a rim.
While Adebayo never took the rim down, his 19-points became a huge reason that the Heat was able to close the gap.
Dominating it the paint is what brought the Heat’s chances back to life in this one. But the Celtics threes were what created the gap in the beginning and in the closing minutes gave them the overall advantage.
With only five games left, the importance of each one becomes more and more. Wednesday night the Heat will be able to not only keep their playoff hopes alive but avenge this loss with a rematch against Boston.