SUMMARY
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Tyler Herro sank six of Miami’s franchise playoff record 23 three-pointers as the Heat evened their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with the Boston Celtics by earning a 111-101 road victory in Game 2 on Wednesday night, April 24 (Thursday, April 25, Manila time).
Miami shot 23-of-43 from long distance, with Herro going 6-of-11 on three-point tries en route to a team-high 24 points. Herro also had 14 assists.
“Everybody came to play,” Herro said. “We lost bad in Game 1 and everybody responded. That’s all you can ask for from a group of guys… We love to compete and that’s what it’s all about.”
Eighth-seeded Miami led 102-91 after Bam Adebayo made a hook shot with 4:12 to play, and top-seeded Boston failed to get closer than s6 points after that. The Heat outscored the Celtics 53-40 in the second half.
Adebayo collected 21 points and 10 rebounds. Miami also received 21 points from Caleb Martin, who made 5-of-6 shots from three-point range.
“We understood how many missed opportunities we had hesitating to shoot the threes in Game 1, and we had the mentality coming in of just let it fly,” Martin said.
“We were hungry. The only way you beat a team like that is come in and try to play on the same level.”
Boston’s Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 33 points, and Jayson Tatum finished with 28 points. Brown and Tatum each had 8 rebounds.
The Celtics were limited to 12 three-point field goals (on 32 attempts) after they went 22-of-49 from distance during their 114-94 victory in Game 1.
“Two completely different games from Game 1 to Game 2 based on the schemes, so we have to adjust to that,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said.
“More switching on their part. Higher pick-up points, and obviously their adjustment to shoot more. We’re going to have to find a balance, because a lot of those guys who made shots are also good drivers, especially getting downhill,” he added.
“When you play a little bit inefficient offense from the standpoint of fighting for your space and getting there, it puts a ton of pressure on your defense, and that’s the kind of team that takes advantage of inefficient offense because of their ability to attack at that other end.”
Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 14 points while Nikola Jovic finished with 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis shot 1-of-9 from the field and finished with 6 points.
Miami led 28-27 after one quarter but trailed 61-58 at halftime.
The Heat made 13 three-pointers (on 24 tries) in the first half.
The Heat had a five-point lead with 2:09 left in the half, but the Celtics closed the period on an 11-3 run. Brown scored all 11 Boston points in the sequence, during which he sank three consecutive treys. Neither team led by more than 6 points in the first two quarters.
A 15-3 run put the Heat up 82-70 with 3:36 remaining in the third quarter. Miami was on top 85-79 entering the fourth.
Game 3 will be played Saturday, April 27, in Miami. – Rappler.com
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