Heat Struggle Offensively in Blowout Loss to Celtics

The Miami Heat’s offensive woes continued Monday night as they fell to the Boston Celtics 103-85 at TD Garden. With Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. sidelined due to illness, Miami struggled to find consistent scoring, shooting just 33.7% from the field and 24.4% from three-point range.

Bam Adebayo did his best to carry the load, finishing with 22 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with a Celtics team that fired up 53 three-pointers and pulled away early. Jayson Tatum led Boston with 33 points, while Kristaps Porzingis added 17, and Al Horford contributed 16 off the bench.

The Heat started strong, jumping out to a 24-13 lead late in the first quarter. But as has been the case too often this season, Miami’s offense went ice-cold. The Celtics responded with an 18-0 run, holding the Heat scoreless for more than six minutes and seizing control of the game. Miami never recovered, as Boston’s lead ballooned to as many as 24 points.

Monday also marked the Heat debuts for Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, and Kyle Anderson following last week’s trade that sent Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors. Wiggins finished with 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting, while Mitchell and Anderson combined for just four points on 2-of-13 from the field.

The Heat have now been held under 90 points in five straight meetings with the Celtics, including their first-round playoff series last season. Head coach Erik Spoelstra acknowledged the team’s struggles but remained optimistic about the new-look roster’s ability to adapt.

“What I felt like was our resolve and focus lost steam when we started to get disjointed offensively,” Spoelstra said postgame. “That happens with teams that are still trying to find their identity. We’re going to figure this out.”

Terry Rozier’s shooting struggles also continued, as he finished with nine points on 4-of-12 shooting. The veteran guard is averaging just 12.4 points per game this season, his lowest mark since 2018-19.

With the loss, Miami drops to 27-24 on the season. The Heat will look to regroup as they head to Oklahoma City for a matchup with the Thunder on Wednesday before taking on the Mavericks in Dallas on Thursday.

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