Game ID: 42300102
Miami Heat @ Boston Celtics
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET
TD Garden, Boston, MA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
BOS 27 34 18 22 101MIA 28 30 27 26 111
BOS vs MIA ScoutingBOS vs MIA Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
BOS availability going into 4/11 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 9 since 3/23, out tonight
BACK Brissett back 4/01 after 2, 8 min since (74% of 10)
NEW Pritchard 22 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW Hauser 21 to 27 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 4/12 · back-to-backOUT Queta missed 10 since 3/23, returns tonight: 18 min (160% of 11)
NEW Hauser 21 to 27 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restBACK Queta back 4/12 after 10, 18 min since (160% of 11)
NEW Pritchard 22 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Hauser 21 to 29 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 4/21 · 6 days' restOUT Tatum missed 2 since 4/12, returns tonight: 41 min (112% of 37)
OUT Brown missed 2 since 4/12, returns tonight: 34 min (100% of 34)
OUT Holiday missed 2 since 4/12, returns tonight: 34 min (99% of 34)
OUT White missed 2 since 4/12, returns tonight: 34 min (101% of 33)
OUT Porziņģis missed 2 since 4/12, returns tonight: 34 min (118% of 29)
OUT Horford missed 2 since 4/12, returns tonight: 26 min (93% of 28)
BACK Queta back 4/12 after 10, 19 min since (167% of 11)
NEW Pritchard 22 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Hauser 21 to 29 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 4/24 · 2 days' restBACK Tatum back 4/21 after 2, 41 min since (112% of 37)
BACK Brown back 4/21 after 2, 34 min since (100% of 34)
BACK Holiday back 4/21 after 2, 34 min since (99% of 34)
BACK White back 4/21 after 2, 34 min since (101% of 33)
BACK Porziņģis back 4/21 after 2, 34 min since (118% of 29)
BACK Horford back 4/21 after 2, 26 min since (93% of 28)
BACK Queta back 4/12 after 10, 19 min since (167% of 11)
NEW Pritchard 22 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Hauser 21 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Kornet 15 to 20 min over the last 4
BOS availability going into 4/27 · 2 days' restOUT Kornet missed 2 since 4/21, returns tonight: 5 min (36% of 15)
OUT Tillman missed 2 since 4/21, out tonight
OUT Queta missed 2 since 4/21, out tonight
OUT Brissett missed 2 since 4/21, returns tonight: 1 min (13% of 10)
BACK Tatum back 4/21 after 2, 41 min since (112% of 37)
BACK Brown back 4/21 after 2, 36 min since (104% of 34)
BACK Holiday back 4/21 after 2, 35 min since (105% of 34)
BACK White back 4/21 after 2, 35 min since (104% of 33)
BACK Porziņģis back 4/21 after 2, 32 min since (110% of 29)
BACK Horford back 4/21 after 2, 25 min since (89% of 28)
NEW Pritchard 22 to 28 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 4/29 · 1 day's restOUT Tillman missed 3 since 4/21, out tonight
OUT Queta missed 3 since 4/21, out tonight
BACK Tatum back 4/21 after 2, 40 min since (110% of 37)
BACK Brown back 4/21 after 2, 35 min since (101% of 34)
BACK Holiday back 4/21 after 2, 35 min since (104% of 34)
BACK White back 4/21 after 2, 33 min since (101% of 33)
BACK Porziņģis back 4/21 after 2, 30 min since (105% of 29)
BACK Horford back 4/21 after 2, 24 min since (86% of 28)
BACK Kornet back 4/27 after 2, 5 min since (36% of 15)
BACK Brissett back 4/27 after 2, 1 min since (13% of 10)
NEW Pritchard 22 to 29 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 5/01 · 1 day's restOUT Tillman missed 4 since 4/21, returns tonight: 7 min (58% of 12)
OUT Queta missed 4 since 4/21, out tonight
BACK Tatum back 4/21 after 2, 40 min since (108% of 37)
BACK Brown back 4/21 after 2, 36 min since (104% of 34)
BACK Holiday back 4/21 after 2, 36 min since (106% of 34)
BACK White back 4/21 after 2, 35 min since (106% of 33)
BACK Porziņģis back 4/21 after 2, 26 min since (90% of 29)
BACK Horford back 4/21 after 2, 26 min since (95% of 28)
BACK Kornet back 4/27 after 2, 4 min since (29% of 15)
BACK Brissett back 4/27 after 2, 1 min since (13% of 10)
BOS availability going into 5/07 · 5 days' restOUT Queta missed 5 since 4/21, returns tonight: 3 min (27% of 11)
BACK Tatum back 4/21 after 2, 38 min since (104% of 37)
BACK Brown back 4/21 after 2, 34 min since (99% of 34)
BACK Holiday back 4/21 after 2, 36 min since (105% of 34)
BACK White back 4/21 after 2, 34 min since (102% of 33)
BACK Porziņģis back 4/21 after 2, 26 min since (90% of 29)
BACK Horford back 4/21 after 2, 26 min since (93% of 28)
BACK Kornet back 4/27 after 2, 9 min since (61% of 15)
BACK Tillman back 5/01 after 4, 7 min since (58% of 12)
BACK Brissett back 4/27 after 2, 3 min since (32% of 10)
MIA availability going into 4/10 · back-to-backOUT Richardson missed 26 since 2/13, out tonight
OUT Mills missed 6 since 3/31, returns tonight: 11 min (68% of 17)
OUT Bryant missed 5 since 4/02, out tonight
OUT Cain missed 2 since 4/07, returns tonight: 1 min (11% of 10)
BACK Herro back 4/05 after 20, 35 min since (102% of 34)
BACK Wright back 4/09 after 4, 21 min since (95% of 22)
BACK Love back 4/02 after 16, 12 min since (78% of 16)
NEW Highsmith 21 to 28 min over the last 5
MIA availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restOUT Rozier missed 2 since 4/09, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 2 since 4/09, out tonight
OUT Richardson missed 27 since 2/13, out tonight
OUT Bryant missed 6 since 4/02, out tonight
BACK Herro back 4/05 after 20, 35 min since (103% of 34)
BACK Wright back 4/09 after 4, 21 min since (95% of 22)
BACK Mills back 4/10 after 6, 11 min since (68% of 17)
BACK Cain back 4/05 after 2, 1 min since (13% of 10)
NEW Highsmith 21 to 27 min over the last 5
MIA availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restOUT Rozier missed 3 since 4/09, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 3 since 4/09, out tonight
OUT Richardson missed 28 since 2/13, out tonight
OUT Bryant missed 7 since 4/02, returns tonight: 23 min (203% of 12)
BACK Herro back 4/05 after 20, 34 min since (99% of 34)
BACK Wright back 4/09 after 4, 20 min since (91% of 22)
BACK Mills back 4/10 after 6, 11 min since (68% of 17)
BACK Cain back 4/05 after 2, 1 min since (12% of 10)
NEW Highsmith 21 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Jović 20 to 26 min over the last 5
MIA availability going into 4/21 · 6 days' restOUT Rozier missed 4 since 4/09, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 4 since 4/09, returns tonight: 15 min (56% of 27)
OUT Richardson missed 29 since 2/13, out tonight
BACK Wright back 4/09 after 4, 23 min since (104% of 22)
BACK Mills back 4/10 after 6, 10 min since (58% of 17)
BACK Bryant back 4/14 after 7, 23 min since (203% of 12)
BACK Cain back 4/10 after 2, 1 min since (14% of 10)
NEW Jović 20 to 26 min over the last 5
MIA availability going into 4/24 · 2 days' restOUT Rozier missed 5 since 4/09, out tonight
OUT Richardson missed 30 since 2/13, out tonight
BACK Robinson back 4/21 after 4, 15 min since (56% of 27)
BACK Wright back 4/09 after 4, 23 min since (107% of 22)
BACK Mills back 4/10 after 6, 10 min since (58% of 17)
BACK Bryant back 4/14 after 7, 23 min since (203% of 12)
BACK Cain back 4/10 after 2, 1 min since (14% of 10)
NEW Highsmith 21 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Jović 20 to 26 min over the last 5
MIA availability going into 4/27 · 2 days' restOUT Butler III missed 2 since 4/21, out tonight
OUT Rozier missed 6 since 4/09, out tonight
OUT Richardson missed 31 since 2/13, out tonight
OUT Mills missed 2 since 4/21, returns tonight: 12 min (72% of 17)
OUT Bryant missed 2 since 4/21, returns tonight: 6 min (50% of 12)
BACK Robinson back 4/21 after 4, 16 min since (59% of 27)
BACK Cain back 4/10 after 2, 1 min since (14% of 10)
MIA availability going into 4/29 · 1 day's restOUT Butler III missed 3 since 4/21, out tonight
OUT Rozier missed 7 since 4/09, out tonight
OUT Richardson missed 32 since 2/13, out tonight
BACK Robinson back 4/21 after 4, 13 min since (49% of 27)
BACK Mills back 4/27 after 2, 12 min since (72% of 17)
BACK Bryant back 4/14 after 7, 15 min since (127% of 12)
NEW Highsmith 21 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Jović 20 to 25 min over the last 5
MIA availability going into 5/01 · 1 day's restOUT Butler III missed 4 since 4/21, out tonight
OUT Rozier missed 8 since 4/09, out tonight
OUT Richardson missed 33 since 2/13, out tonight
BACK Robinson back 4/21 after 4, 11 min since (39% of 27)
BACK Mills back 4/27 after 2, 17 min since (102% of 17)
BACK Bryant back 4/14 after 7, 15 min since (127% of 12)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 107, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 13 free throws a game; Tatum at 21 and Pritchard at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. 2 days' rest. Miami comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 16 free throws a game; Herro at 20 and Butler III at 16 a game. Without Rozier (5 straight), Richardson (30 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-3 a night and Miami minus-3. Call it Boston 114, Miami 108.
4/11 vs NYK 109-118 — BOS notes
BOS lost 109-118. BOS shot 47% (40 of 86) to NYK's 49%, 16 of 42 from three, and went to the line 16 times to NYK's 10 — 13 points from the stripe to their 6. The glass went 36-52 against them. Tatum led with 18 (5 of 13, 1 of 7 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Pritchard added 16, Brown 15. Q4 was theirs, 38-18, the deficit cut from 29 to 9, but the other 3 periods went 100-71 against them. Tatum's -30 in 32 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/12 vs CHA 131-98 — BOS notes
BOS won 131-98. BOS shot 52% (54 of 104) to CHA's 42%, 14 of 41 from three, and got to the line 13 times to CHA's 22. BOS turned it over 6 times to CHA's 19. The glass went 53-33 for them. Pritchard led with 31 (14 of 22, 3 of 8 from three); Hauser added 16, Kornet 16. The hinge was Q2, 39-19: a lead of 6 became 26, and the lead reached 35. Hauser was the night's best plus/minus at +34.
4/14 vs WAS 132-122 — BOS notes
BOS won 132-122. BOS shot 57% (51 of 89) to WAS's 48%, 16 of 32 from three, and went to the line 21 times to WAS's 10 — 14 points from the stripe to their 10. The glass went 48-36 for them. Pritchard led with 38 (15 of 21, 4 of 6 from three); Mykhailiuk added 26, Queta 19. The hinge was Q3, 38-30: a lead of 10 became 18, and the lead reached 24. Hauser was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
4/21 vs MIA 114-94 — BOS notes
BOS won 114-94. BOS shot 48% (39 of 82) to MIA's 47%, 22 of 49 from three, and went to the line 16 times to MIA's 6 — 14 points from the stripe to their 6. The glass went 44-34 for them. Tatum led with 23 (7 of 18, 1 of 8 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); White added 20, Porziņģis 18. The hinge was Q3, 31-14: a lead of 15 became 32. White was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
4/24 vs MIA 101-111 — BOS notes
BOS lost 101-111. BOS shot 46% (37 of 80) to MIA's 49%, 12 of 32 from three. Brown led with 33 (13 of 23, 4 of 9 from three, 3 of 6 at the line); Tatum added 28, White 13. Q2 was theirs, 34-30, turning a 1-point deficit into a 3-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 81-67 against them. Porziņģis's -32 in 30 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/27 @ MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 106, shooting 49 percent and 40 from three, 16 free throws a game; Herro at 18 and Adebayo at 18 a game. Without Butler III (2 straight), Rozier (6 straight), Richardson (31 straight). 2 days' rest. Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 109, shooting 50 percent and 41 from three, 17 free throws a game; Tatum at 23 and Brown at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-5 a night and Miami minus-0. Call it Boston 112, Miami 110, Miami keeping it close.
4/29 @ MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 105, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 16 free throws a game; Adebayo at 20 and Herro at 17 a game. Without Butler III (3 straight), Rozier (7 straight), Richardson (32 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 102, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 18 free throws a game; Tatum at 24 and Brown at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-10 a night and Miami minus-3. Call it Boston 111, Miami 108, Miami keeping it close.
5/01 vs MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 100, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 19 free throws a game; Tatum at 23 and Brown at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. Miami comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 99 a night and allowing 105, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 14 free throws a game; Adebayo at 21 and Herro at 17 a game. Without Butler III (4 straight), Rozier (8 straight), Richardson (33 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-6 a night and Miami minus-3 and the arc, Boston at 40 percent from three to Miami's 35. Call it Boston 112, Miami 103.
5/07 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 92, shooting 47 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Brown at 23 and White at 22 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 9 a night. 5 days' rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 96 a night and allowing 107, shooting 44 percent and 29 from three, 20 free throws a game; Mitchell at 30 and Garland at 15 a game. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. Without Allen (3 straight), Wade (26 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-9 a night and Cleveland minus-10 and the arc, Boston at 38 percent from three to Cleveland's 29. Call it Boston 112, Cleveland 101, Boston by 11.
4/10 vs DAL 92-111 — MIA notes
MIA lost 92-111. MIA shot 41% (33 of 81) to DAL's 49%, 13 of 30 from three. MIA turned it over 15 times to DAL's 7, and DAL turned those into 8 steals. Herro led with 21 (6 of 15, 2 of 5 from three, 7 of 7 at the line); Love added 16, Martin 14. Q3 was theirs, 27-19, the deficit cut from 22 to 14, but the other 3 periods went 92-65 against them. Adebayo's -20 in 30 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/12 vs TOR 125-103 — MIA notes
MIA won 125-103. MIA shot 52% (45 of 86) to TOR's 48%, 17 of 41 from three. MIA turned it over 4 times to TOR's 17. Jović led with 22 (9 of 18, 4 of 10 from three); Jaquez Jr. added 20, Adebayo 19. The hinge was Q1, 33-22: from level to 11 ahead, and the lead reached 25. Jaquez Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
4/14 vs TOR 118-103 — MIA notes
MIA won 118-103. MIA shot 53% (46 of 87) to TOR's 42%, 9 of 36 from three. Jaquez Jr. led with 18 (6 of 12, 0 of 4 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Bryant added 18, Herro 17. The hinge was Q2, 43-22: from level to 21 ahead, and the lead reached 30. Jaquez Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +25.
4/21 @ BOS 94-114 — MIA notes
MIA lost 94-114. MIA shot 47% (38 of 81) to BOS's 48%, 12 of 37 from three, and got to the line 6 times to BOS's 16. The glass went 34-44 against them. Adebayo led with 24 (10 of 18); Wright added 17, Jaquez Jr. 16. Q4 was theirs, 35-23, the deficit cut from 32 to 20, but the other 3 periods went 91-59 against them. Jović's -25 in 26 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/24 @ BOS 111-101 — MIA notes
MIA won 111-101. MIA shot 49% (37 of 75) to BOS's 46%, 23 of 43 from three. Herro led with 24 (7 of 13, 6 of 11 from three); Adebayo added 21, Martin 21. The hinge was Q3, 27-18: MIA came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 6. MIA trailed 58-61 at the half and won the second half 53-40. Herro was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
4/27 vs BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 106, shooting 49 percent and 40 from three, 16 free throws a game; Herro at 18 and Adebayo at 18 a game. Without Butler III (2 straight), Rozier (6 straight), Richardson (31 straight). 2 days' rest. Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 109, shooting 50 percent and 41 from three, 17 free throws a game; Tatum at 23 and Brown at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-5 a night and Miami minus-0. Call it Boston 112, Miami 110, Miami keeping it close.
4/29 vs BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 105, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 16 free throws a game; Adebayo at 20 and Herro at 17 a game. Without Butler III (3 straight), Rozier (7 straight), Richardson (32 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 102, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 18 free throws a game; Tatum at 24 and Brown at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-10 a night and Miami minus-3. Call it Boston 111, Miami 108, Miami keeping it close.
5/01 @ BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 100, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 19 free throws a game; Tatum at 23 and Brown at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. Miami comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 99 a night and allowing 105, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 14 free throws a game; Adebayo at 21 and Herro at 17 a game. Without Butler III (4 straight), Rozier (8 straight), Richardson (33 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-6 a night and Miami minus-3 and the arc, Boston at 40 percent from three to Miami's 35. Call it Boston 112, Miami 103.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
BOSAH A. Horford
DW D. White
JB J. Brown
JH J. Holiday
JT J. Tatum
KP K. Porziņģis
PP P. Pritchard
PO Porzingis
SH S. Hauser
MIABA B. Adebayo
CM C. Martin
DR D. Robinson
DW D. Wright
HH H. Highsmith
JJ J. Jaquez Jr.
JO Jovic
KL K. Love
NJ N. Jović
TH T. Herro
BOS/MIA the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Herro scores 24, Heat hit franchise playoff-record 23 3s to beat Boston and even series 1-1
BOSTON -- — The Miami Heat beat Boston with an unprecedented barrage of 3-pointers on Wednesday night to erase the home-court advantage the Celtics worked all season to establish.
Tyler Herro had 24 points and 14 assists, hitting six of Miami's 23 3-pointers — the most in a playoff game in franchise history — to lead the Heat to a 111-101 victory over top-seeded Boston and tie the first-round playoff series at one game apiece.
“It was a very good response,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And then we also made some shots. It always looks better when you make shots.”
Bam Adebayo had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and new Celtics nemesis Caleb Martin also had 21 points for the Heat, who shot 53.5% (23 of 43) from beyond the arc to bounce back after a Game 1 blowout. That broke Miami's playoff record of 20 3-pointers, set against the Bucks in the 2021 first round.
“They obviously made a conscious effort to have free reign to shoot more,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.
And shoot and shoot and shoot.
Playing their third straight game without playoff stalwart Jimmy Butler , who was injured in the opening play-in game, Miami shot better than 50% from 3-point range in each of the first three quarters (and a still productive 4 of 10 in the fourth).
After Boston cut an 11-point lead to six, 102-96, with 3:16 to play, Martin hit a 3 and Boston never got as close as two possessions again.
“You have to take ‘em, based on how they were playing us the first two games,” said Spoelstra, who saw Boston hit 22 3-pointers to Miami’s 12 in the opener. “I did not want to get annihilated in that department like we did the game before.”
Jaylen Brown scored 33 points for Boston. Jayson Tatum scored 28, showing no ill-effects of Martin’s hard foul that sent him crashing to the floor with under a minute to play in Boston’s 114-94 victory on Sunday.
Tatum got up off the parquet floor.
But so did Miami.
“It seemed we couldn’t get them to miss," Brown said. "They had a record-breaking night. ... They made a lot of shots that usually we’re comfortable with.”
The series moves to Miami for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday.
“It’s always a good thing if you can get one on the road,” Martin said. “You always look to try to steal one. We were able to do that.”
The Celtics won 64 games in the regular season to claim home-court advantage through the NBA Finals, but they didn’t make very good use of it on Wednesday despite a crowd that was still fired up over seeing their star land hard in the series opener.
Tatum had his first career playoff triple-double on Sunday, scoring 23 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists in game in which Boston led by as many as 34 points in the fourth quarter. But the big question was how he would bounce back after getting undercut by Martin while going after a rebound.
Tatum started Game 2 and had 14 points in the first quarter. And Martin was heartily booed every time he touched the ball.
It only seemed to energize him and the Heat, who needed to win a play-in game to earn the right to face the Celtics.
“He’s a competitor. He’s the ultimate X factor,” Spoelstra said. “He’s the X factor of X factors.”
Miami led by five, 55-50, with two minutes left in the first half before Brown hit three straight 3-pointers to open a four-point lead. Brown missed a 3 the next time down, but his layup in the final seconds made it 61-58 at the half.
Miami went on a 10-0 run to take an 82-70 lead with under four minutes to play in the third before the Celtics cut it to six.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy," Tatum said. "There’s a lot of history between these two franchises, especially recently. ... It’s never going to go exactly as people expect it to go and that’s the beauty of it.”