Things have been looking bad for the Miami Heat against the Boston Celtics. They barely made it out of the play-in tournament. Now they’re facing their playoff rivals without their leader, Jimmy Butler, and their starting point guard, Terry Rozier, due to injuries. However, the Miami Heat went into TD Garden and pulled off one of the most shocking upsets in recent memory.
Miami Heat Pulls Off Shocking Game 2 Upset
The Miami Herald couldn’t have said it any better. They started their report on game two by saying, “The short-handed eighth-seeded Heat bounced back from a 20-point loss in Game 1, shocking the top-seeded Celtics 111-101 in Game 2 on Wednesday.”
Miami’s ability to hit a franchise playoff record of 23 three-pointers helped them rise above the Celtics at TD Garden in Boston. Jayson Tatum was somber after the loss and told the media,
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. There’s a lot of history between these two franchises, especially recently, regardless of seeding, who’s in or who’s out.
It’s the playoffs, especially that team. It’s never going to go how you expect it to go. That’s the beauty of being in the playoffs and playing at the highest level. We lost the game and we’ve got a chance to play again on Saturday. Should be another fun one.”
The 2 Miami Heat Players That Saved The Game
With Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier out, the Heat must rely on NBA All-Star Bam Adebayo and the former 6th Man of the Year Tyler Herro.
Bam Adebayo finished the game with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 assists while shooting 69% from the field. The all-star Miami Heat center also shut down Boston’s starting center, Kristaps Porzingis, as he had 6 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. Porzingis had 3 steals and 2 blocks in the game, which somewhat made up for his offensive inefficiency after going 1-9 shooting.
Tyler Herro garnered 24 points, 14 assists, and 5 rebounds while shooting 53% from the field. The game’s box score showed that Herro went 6-11 from the 3-point arc. Herro made the most threes on the Heat, but he couldn’t have done it all alone from outside the arc.
The Heat’s Hidden Hero In Game 2
Speaking of outside shooting, Caleb Martin shot a very efficient 5-6 from beyond the arc. The forward finished with 21 points and shot 7-12 from the field. Martin was able to find his spots from outside the arc as Boston struggled with defensive adjustments. He also bounced back from a horrendous 4-point game 1 performance where he shot 2-6 from the field.
Since Caleb left the Charlotte Hornets to join Miami, he has been a cornerstone of the recent roster. He went from averaging 5 points during his years at Charlotte to averaging 10 points per game in his three seasons with the Miami Heat.
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