Heat seize 2-0 series lead over Celtics with second-half surge
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[September 18, 2020]
Goran Dragic scored a game-high
25 points, Bam Adebayo had 15 of his 21 during a furious
third-quarter comeback, and the Miami Heat rallied from an early
17-point deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 106-101 in Game 2 of the
Eastern Conference finals Thursday night near Orlando.
Adebayo, the hero of Game 1 with his critical block in overtime,
added 10 rebounds as the Heat improved to 2-0 in the best-of-seven
series and 10-1 in the playoffs. Six Miami players scored in double
figures, including Duncan Robinson, who had 18 points on six
3-pointers.
"We just never gave up," said Jimmy Butler, who had 14 points on
4-of-11 shooting.
Kemba Walker emerged from a slump and put up 23 points to lead the
Celtics, and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 21 apiece.
Game 3 will take place Saturday night. After Thursday's game,
multiple reporters noted screaming in the Celtics locker room, with
team leader Marcus Smart said to be among the most vocal.
Smart later declined to speak with media.
"Guys are emotional after a hard game, hard loss," Boston coach Brad
Stevens said.
Walker dismissed the ruckus as "nothing."
The Heat outscored the Celtics 37-17 in the third quarter to take an
84-77 lead into the final period. Boston roared back with a 10-2 run
in the middle of the fourth, knotting the score at 89 on a Brown
basket with 5:37 remaining.
The Celtics maintained momentum and led 94-89 after a 3-pointer by
Walker with 4:25 to go. But the Heat countered with a 13-1 run to
seize control, Jae Crowder's layup with 1:26 on the clock giving
Miami a 102-95 edge.
"Just a lot of mistakes," Walker said of the blown leads. "We make
too many minor mistakes that really hurt us. We've got to clean that
up in order to beat these guys."
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Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) passes the ball to forward Kelly Olynyk
(9) over Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) during the fourth
quarter in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2020 NBA
Playoffs at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The Miami Heat won
106-101. / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Brown got Boston within 104-101 on a 3-pointer with 49.4 seconds
remaining, but he couldn't knot the score from deep with 15.1 ticks
to go as Miami held on.
Down by 13 to begin the third, the Heat rode a 15-2 spurt to a 72-71
lead with 4:17 to go. Adebayo had 11 points during the run, giving
Miami its first lead since 1:13 of the opening quarter. The Heat
ended the period on a 10-1 stretch to up their lead to seven through
three.
"Bam really set the tone in that second half," Heat coach Erik
Spoelstra said. "That just took some of the pressure off our
offense. Bam was really assertive in the pick-and-roll, and that
kind of loosened up some things for us."
The Celtics led 31-28 after a tightly contested first quarter.
Boston blew the game open in the second, grabbing its first
double-digit advantage, 43-33, on back-to-back 3-pointers by Brad
Wanamaker with 8:37 left. The margin reached 17 with 3:19 to go, but
Miami cut its deficit to 60-47 at the break.
-Field Level Media
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