The Boston Celtics lost home-court advantage in their first-round series against the Miami Heat with a 111-101 Game 2 loss. Jaylen Brown broke down how the Heat managed to pull the win off, shooting a franchise record 23-43 from 3-point range.
"I think they're well-coached... They put together a good game plan, felt confident, and came out and executed. Tonight was an example of that. I thought they made a lot of shots we'd be comfortable with, but it's the playoffs. It is what it is. You gotta adjust."
Jaylen Brown led the Celtics in scoring during the game, putting up 33 points but it still not being enough to bring them the win.
Joe Mazzulla wasn't upset with the shot quality that the Celtics ended up giving the Heat on what ended up being a historic shooting night.
“Thought most of those were moderately to heavily contested.”
The Heat had five players hit three or more threes, as Haywood Highsmith, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Nikola Jovic hit three each with Caleb Martin converting five 3-pointers and Tyler Herro hitting six of his 3-point shots. Adding Duncan Robinson's two made shots and Delon Wright's solitary 3, the Heat had a historic night.
Replicating a performance like this will be an almighty task for the Heat, but if there's any team that can shatter expectations, it's the Heat. If they somehow manage to defend home-court and take a 3-1 lead over Games 3 and 4, they may be in line for one of the greatest playoff upsets of all time.
Jayson Tatum Knows The Heat Will Make This A Difficult Series
Jayson Tatum also reflected on the loss after the game, opening up on how the Heat presents an extremely tricky challenge while reflecting on their recent competitive history.
"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, and especially with that team, it's never going to go how people expect it to go, and that's the beauty of the playoffs. Playing at the highest level, that's part of it. We lost the game but we got a chance to play again on Saturday, so should be another fun one."
Jayson Tatum ended Game 3 with 28 points and eight rebounds. It was a strong performance from the superstar, but he needs to be the one to step up and be the difference-maker in games like this. The Heat always give the Celtics a hard time, but a loss in this series might be one of the biggest playoff upsets of all time, especially with Jimmy Butler's absence.
Backing the Celtics to win the series is still the smart pick, but knowing Miami, it won't be an easy ride to that point. These teams have met in the playoffs thrice over the last four seasons, with the Heat holding a 2-1 series advantage. If there's a team that knows to beat Boston, it's the Heat.
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