The Miami Heat got out to a quick start against their Eastern Conference rivals, the Boston Celtics, on Thursday night, opening the first quarter with a 36-25 lead. Unfortunately, the game didn't end the way it began, and the Heat ended up dropping the second game of their three-game home stand.
Coming off a 127-121 win over the Phoenix Suns two nights ago to kick off a three-game slate at home, the Heat were showing signs of life after defeating the seventh seed in the Western Conference. Bam Adebayo finally scored more than 20 points, and the Heat overall looked like the team we hadn't seen since the beginning of the season.
Things were looking good against the Celtics as they were up on them in the fourth quarter, but couldn't close it out, and Jaylen Brown wasn't even the best player on the floor — Anfernee Simons and his 39 points were. Miami had a window to finish, but came up massively short in the fourth quarter, dropping to 1-1 on their home stand.
Heat get three 20+ points performances from key starters, but it the Celtics were too much down the stretch
Normally, when a team gets 20 or more points from three players in a game, the win more often than not goes to them. Had it not been for Simons, who is playing in his first season with the Celtics, the Heat may very well have pulled this one out. Especially considering the production Miami got from their starting five.
Bam Adebayo (22 points), Norman Powell (26 points), Tyler Herro (22 points), and Andrew Wiggins (16 points) combined for 86 of Miami's 109 points. Every other Heat player aside from rookie Kasparas Jakučionis, who made a basket, scored in the single digits; Jakučionis scored 12 points.
After the first quarter, it had the makings of another upset, only because the Celtics are a top-three seed in the East and, even without Jayson Tatum, are miraculously better than most Eastern teams, including the Heat. However, after the first quarter, the subsequent two quarters had virtually equal points scored between the two teams, until the fourth, where, despite being down in the final frame, the C’s caught up and pulled away.
Miami could not stop Boston in the end, and the Celtics' going 25-of-26 from the free-throw line certainly played a role. This was a game the Heat could have won, had they stayed with the Celtics in the fourth quarter.
On a positive note, however, Adebayo notched his second consecutive game scoring over 20 points, which has to be a good sign for the Heat. Miami's big man has struggled mightily this season, especially since the start of December, but has appeared to pick things back up again recently.
The Heat will continue and finish their home stand on Saturday when they welcome the Oklahoma City Thunder for a rematch of last weekend's 124-112 loss the Heat suffered on OKC's home floor.