Tyler Herro had 24 points and 14 assists while hitting six of Miami’s franchise playoff-record 23 3-pointers to lead the Heat to a 111-101 victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night and tie their first-round playoff series at one win apiece.
With Boston unable to put a dent into the Heat’s lead throughout the game, Celtics fans headed for the exits early – drawing the ire of Miami fans:
Brady Hawk – “Wait Are they leav-”
Miami Heat fans have been known to leave games early, and it’s a topic that has sparked discussions, hence it being thrown back the Celtics’ way.
During the 2013 NBA Finals Game 6, some Heat fans left the American Airlines Arena before the game was over, despite their team being in a critical situation. The Heat were down by seven points at the start of the fourth quarter, but they managed to fight back and tie the game with less than two minutes remaining. Ray Allen’s clutch 3-pointer sent the game into overtime, and suddenly, those early-exiting fans realized they might have wasted a chance to witness history. However, they weren’t allowed back in, leading to some unhappy moments at the arena.
Similarly, during Game 3 of the NBA Finals in 2023, Heat fans were seen leaving the Kaseya Center early when their team was trailing by a significant margin. Even though the Heat have shown incredible resolve in the past, some fans still gave up prematurely during this championship game. It’s a reminder that sports fans can be passionate and unpredictable, especially when emotions run high.
Celtics and Heat tied heading to Miami
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.
The Heat relied on extensive 3-point shooting to top the Celtics, making 23 3-pointers compared to only 14 2-point buckets.
Miami led by five with two minutes left in the first half before Jaylen 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. The Celtics cut the deficit to six, 102-96, with three minutes left, but Caleb Martin hit a 3 and Boston never got within two possessions again.
Celtics fans booed Martin every time he touched the ball after he undercut Jayson Tatum in Game 1, leading to a bit of a scrum. After the game, Tatum spoke about the incident.
“It’s a physical game, playing against a physical team, s**t’s going to happen” Tatum said. “It’s not the last time my body will get hit like that or fouled in this series. I wasn’t hurt. You get hit like that. You just get up. And I knew we was in the bonus so, just go down there and knock the free throws in.”
The Celtics take on the Heat in Game 3 on Saturday.
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