Miami Stuns Boston, Seizes Home Court as Heat Put on Shooting Clinic

If there was ever a game that defined what Heat Culture is all about, it was last night’s playoff victory as the Miami Heat, playing without Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier, upset the 64-win Celtics at the Boston Garden 111-101. From the get-go, Miami looked like a team that was unfazed and simply not intimidated by the Celtics, coming out swinging early on.

Coach Spo produced a coaching masterclass, making key defensive adjustments, putting his best defender Bam Adebayo on Tatum early on, and Jovic on Porzingis. Porzingis, who has been a key contributor to the Celtics’ regular season success, finished with just six points on 1-9 shooting. Miami was also sharp offensively; they made 23 three-pointers, a franchise playoff record. The Heat were getting open on screens and cuts, and moving the ball around unselfishly like a well-oiled machine. Miami had 25 assists and spread the wealth around the offense. All five starters for Miami were in double figures, and the Heat had three players score 20+ points with Caleb Martin and Bam Adebayo contributing 21 points and Tyler Herro leading the Heat with 24 points.

For Miami, both Herro and Bam showed up when they needed to. Bam, who had been playing rather passively, had eight points in the fourth quarter, hitting key shots that buried the Celtics, along with four rebounds and an assist. Herro was phenomenal, producing one of the best games of his playoff career. Aside from his 24 points, he had a game-high 14 assists. Commenting on his big night, Herro gave a lot of credit to Jimmy Butler, Miami’s superstar who is recovering from a strained MCL: ‘Before the series, [Jimmy Butler] texted me to take the team and lead these guys… Everybody came to play. We lost badly in Game 1 and everyone responded.’ Coach Spo was also effusive with praise for Herro and after the game looked Herro straight in the eye in front of the entire team and told him, ‘That’s the best playmaking you’ve ever done.’

Bam and Herro were not the only ones who stepped up; Caleb Martin found his form on his way to 21 points and hitting five of six threes on the night. Also, Nikola Jovic had a game that has only been done once before in NBA history for players under 20. Jovic had 10+ points, 9+ rebounds, 6+ assists, and 3+ steals. The only other player to achieve that stat line? Magic Johnson.

Now the Heat have stolen the home court advantage that the Celtics worked so hard to achieve this year and will have two playoff games at home in what will be a rabid Kaseya Center on Saturday night. The Heat have the best coach in the NBA and a group of guys that have been playing together for at least four years that, when locked in, share the ball and play top five level defense. They are not afraid of more talented teams nor do they feel sorry for themselves. As the series shifts to Miami, the Celtics’ mental toughness will be severely tested, because for the Heat, they are not just unafraid of Boston, they believe they are mentally and physically stronger.

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