NBA Playoffs – playoffs – working day 8
The Miami Heat are willing to sell their elimination very dearly. Overcoming the injury of their star, Jimmy Butler, they surprised this Wednesday at the TD Garden in Boston against a somewhat indolent Celtics (101-111). They did it thanks to a festival of triples. The Miami team had never made as many shots from the three-point line in a playoff game. Thanks to that, they equal a victory in the first round tie and thereby nullify the Celtics’ home field advantage.
Miami’s team hit 23 shots from beyond the three-point line. They did it with a percentage of 53.5%, curiously much higher than what they had in the two-pointers. Most of the team’s points came on those long-range shots. Caleb Martin, with five triples in six attempts, led that section in effectiveness, but almost all of Miami’s players joined in the bombardment.
The spirit of Jimmy Butler, which always grows in the playoffs, enlightened his companions. In his absence, Miami performed at a high level. Tyler Herro added 24 points, 14 assists and 5 rebounds, including 6 triples in 11 attempts. Bam Adebayo gave a new display of physical power and scored 21 points, captured 10 rebounds and distributed two assists. Jaime Jáquez Jr. scored 3 of 6 triples and added 14 points in total. Nikola Jović, with 11 points, made three of four three-pointers. Caleb Martin added 21 points, including all five three-pointers.
Those from Boston gave too many facilities to the rival shooters, perhaps convinced that they would end up imposing their theoretical superiority. They went into halftime with a 61-58 lead, but something indicated that this game was not going to be a walk in the park, like the first of the series. In the third quarter was when the Celtics succumbed, with an 18-27 run from which they were never able to recover.
For Boston, Jaylen Brown was the top scorer, with 33 points. He made 4 of 9 three-pointers and was one of the most inspired on the team. Tatum scored 28 points, but with only 10 of 20 successes in field goals and a poor 2 of 6 in triples. Kristaps Porziņģis performed below his level and Al Horford was inactive.
In the previous two seasons, Boston and Miami starred in the Eastern finals. The Celtics won in 2022 and the Heat took revenge in 2023, delivering a monumental upset. Now they face each other in the first round, after those from Miami achieved the last ticket for the team in the playoff. playoffs.
In 2022, after finishing first in the East in the regular season, the two teams experienced a vibrant conference final until Jimmy Butler missed the decisive basket in the seventh game in his pavilion. In 2023, like this year, Miami was classified as the eighth seed after the play in. After eliminating the Milwaukee Bucks and the New York Knicks, the Miami Heat started the series with a surprising 3-0 in their favor. The Celtics tied it at 3 and played the decisive game at the TD Garden in Boston, where the Miami team completed their revenge. Only the New York Knicks in 1999 had managed to reach the NBA finals after being the eighth seed. Miami is now looking to repeat the feat and has already taken the first small step in that direction.
Even so, Butler’s loss seems very difficult to cover throughout the series. In the NBA there are statistics for everything and one points out that during the regular season, the Heat recorded a differential of +214 points with the team’s star on the court. Instead, the result was -89 with him off the court.
At the moment, in the first round matches, almost all the favorites have asserted their superiority and have taken the first two victories at home. Apart from the Miami Heat in Miami, the others who have managed to tie the tie in the first two games have been Luka Dončić’s Dallas Mavericks against the Los Angeles Clippers and the Indiana Pacers, who won the second game in Milwaukee against the Bucks who They accused the loss of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
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