The Miami Heat were in Boston on Wednesday night to see if they could take down the Celtics. It would prove to be a tough test, but were the Heat up for it?
The Miami Heat were already battling the odds as they walked into TD Garden on Wednesday night. They were on the second night of a back to back set, where the first game saw them take on the Toronto Raptors in Toronto.
Although the game against the Raptors turned out to be an overtime victory for the Heat, it was still a draining, elongated, fatiguing overtime game nonetheless. These facts were further compounded by the fact that this game against the Celtics would be the third game for the Miami Heat in four nights.
The Miami Heat played their first game of this road trip on Sunday in Brookly against the Nets, a game that saw Jimmy Butler come up big to help the Heat get a clutch win. This is what they were up against as they walked into the building.
That wouldn’t be all that they were up against though, as a picture became clear as the game played out. The Miami Heat actually had a pretty firm grasp on the game in the early going for much of the first half.
The Celtics started to storm back near the halftime mark, eventually closing the first half at a score of 52-44 in favor of Boston. It was what allowed the Celtics to come on, take momentum, and ultimately control in the game that should be talked about though.
The free throw difference to close the first half was despicable. At half, the totals were something like 0-1 for the Miami Heat to 13-18 for the Boston Celtics.
It was almost as if the referees closed their eyes on one end of the court. While the referees may have opened their eyes in the second half, the damage was already done.
The final lines went 11-17 for the Heat to 26-32 for the Celtics, but the Celtics still had twice as many attempts. So not only were the Miami Heat battling scheduling and the Celtics, but they also were up against it with the officials.
The Miami Heat didn’t help themselves either, as they continued in their very turnover-prone ways. On Wednesday they would commit 19 of them, which is one off of their season average of around 18 per game.
The Miami Heat are headed home where they will play their next four games and hope to continue in their winning ways. This game was a tough one and should be put out of the memory banks, for the Heat and Celtics will meet again.