BOSTON, MA- The Boston Celtics dominated the Miami Heat as the Celtics would beat Miami 102-82 to tie the series 2-2. Jayson Tatum led Boston with 31 points and eight rebounds.
Derrick White scored Boston’s first seven points with a layup, a 3-pointer, and another layup.
White then steals the ball from Kyle Lowry however the Celtics’ possession was stalled by Miami’s defense.
Butler missed on a pullup jump shot and Jayson Tatum was fouled on a layup attempt. Tatum only makes one of the two free-throws to give Boston a 8-0 lead.
Bam Adebayo was followed on a layup attempt and only made one of his two free-throws for Miami.
Boston then scored four straight points to take a 12-1 lead with 6:44 left in the first quarter. The Celtics scored six-straight points to have a 17-point lead.
Miami finally made their first field goal with a three from Victor Oladipo, however, Payton Pritchard responded with a 3-pointer of his own to give Boston a 21-4 lead with 2:48 left in the first.
Miami entered the second quarter with a 29-11 lead.
Boston stayed hot as they outscored the Heat in the second quarter 28-22 and entered halftime with a 57-33 lead. Tatum was the leading scorer in the first half with 24 points.
Boston opened the third quarter with a 12-4 run to give them a 69-37 lead with 7:25 left in the quarter. It was a low scoring quarter as both teams scored 19 points a piece.
However, Boston entered the fourth quarter with a 76-52 lead over Miami.
Miami outscored the Celtics 30-26 in the fourth quarter but the Heat lost by 20 points. Al Horford had a defensive role with 13 rebounds, five points, and four blocks.
First Quarter Dominance
Boston was looking to reverse a slow start from game 3 and they delivered. They put on a defensive clinic in the first quarter alone against the Heat.
Miami missed their first 14 shots of the game while Boston flourished on the offensive side of the ball. They only scored one point in that stretch of misses.
Their first field goal came with 3:22 left in the first quarter. That’s eight minutes and 38 seconds without scoring a bucket.
That was the longest stretch that a team has gone without a field goal to start any postseason game in the last 25 years.
Miami scored the fewest points in the first quarter of a playoff game in franchise history. The Heat shot 3-of-20 (15.0) from the field and 1-of-2 (50.0%) from deep in the first quarter.
By halftime, Victor Oladipo was Miami’s only player to score in double-digits with 18 points off the bench.
Heat Looked Off
Miami didn’t look like the same Heat team that was competitive throughout the whole postseason.
All of the starters struggled to score. Butler scored six points, Adebayo scored nine points, and Lowry scored three points. P.J. Tucker and Max Strus didn’t score at all.
The Heat as a whole shot 30-of-90 (33.3%) from the field and 14-of-36 (38.9%) from deep.
Miami looked banged up throughout the game. Butler came into the game with a knee injury and didn’t have the same bounce to grab rebounds or to dunk.
In fact, he didn’t have that extra step to blow by defenders. Lowry at times looked slow walking across the court. What made things worse was that Tyler Herro didn’t play due to a groin injury.
The only players that scored in double-digits for Miami was Oladipo with 23 points, Caleb Martin with 12 points, and Duncan Robinson with 14 off the bench.
Celtics After The Game
The Celtics were able to get their revenge after an embarrassing game 2 loss.
“We just came back and redeemed ourselves,” Tatum said. “We knew this was a game that we really needed in order to protect home court and we were just ready to play. Everybody was ready to get back out here and just play better.”
Tatum was then asked about Horford’s performance.
“Al is our leader,” he said. ” I’m very fortunate to have Al as a teammate for three years. He’s been great for me and my development. He’s just the ultimate professional, so there’s no surprise how he takes care of himself and the way he performs in big games.”
Up Next
The Miami Heat will host the Boston Celtics for Game 5 on May 25, 8:30 pm est.
