Celtics beat Heat, 109-101

MIAMI — Jayson Tatum is close to returning from a sore groin, though not close enough to play last night, and left in a familiar bind, scrambled to fill the young star’s big void.

In the process of pressuring one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league into a 26.5 percent night from downtown, the Celtics responded with a 109-101 win over the toughest home team in the NBA. Prior to last night, Miami had lost at home only once this season.

Gordon Hayward was at his efficient best with 29 points on 10-for-14 shooting and nine rebounds. Jaylen Brown, just as accurate, scored 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting, including 4-for-8 from downtown.

Kemba Walker’s up-top trey with 5:29 left was good for a 97-88 Celtics lead, after Miami had out-scored the Celtics 7-2 over the previous two minutes. Dragic stole the ball and converted a three-point play in transition, only for Hayward to hit a 6-footer and hit twice from the line the next time down.

But starting with a Duncan Robinson 3-pointer, the Heat ran off five straight points until Smart, with 1:50 left, calmly measured and hit from the top of the circle for a 104-96 lead.

Twenty-eight second slater Walker was only able to hit the first of two free throws following a Butler hoop.

But Bam Adebayo lost the ball, Smart was able to tip a Walker miss back out to the shooter, and with 27.2 seconds left Hayward hit twice from the line for a 107-98 lead.

The Celtics opened up a smidgeon of space thanks to Brad Wanamaker’s 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds left in the third quarter – made possible when Grant Williams rebounded a Walker miss and kicked it out to the Celtics guard for an 80-76 lead.

Brown scored the first three points of the fourth, and when Goran Dragic answered, Wanamaker buried his second big three in three minutes. Williams then came up big again, this time scoring off a Wanamaker miss for an 88-80 lead with 8:47 left.

Smart pressured Tyler Herro into a turnover after an ensuing timeout, and then set up Williams to draw a foul and hit the first of two free throws.

Smart supplied the next big make, hitting from downtown for a 92-81 lead. Brad Stevens unsuccessfully challenged a call on Smart that sent Jimmy Butler to the line, and the Heat guard hit twice. Brown threw the ball away and Butler scored again.

Brown’s second straight turnover led to a hard Daniel Theis foul on Butler, who missed his second free throw, and tipped the rebound out to Dion Waiters, who missed a deep shot.

Brown made amends with a drive, and when Dragic hit twice from the line, Walker buried an up-top trey for a 97-88 Celtics lead with 5:29 left.

As evidenced by Miami’s halftime shooting percentages (.356, .250 from downtown), and the scoring halves of players like Butler (eight points) and Duncan Robinson (three), the Celtics were applying maximum pressure defensively.

They were also getting just enough offense, thanks to the efficiency of Hayward and Brown (13 points each, both at 5-for-7). Considering the combined 4-for-16 number put up by Smart and Walker, every drop was needed to take a 53-48 halftime lead.

Walker hit a 3-pointer early in the third that was vital for the Celtics to hold their ground, even if it came in the midst of a 7-3 Miami run.

But Brown once again found a seam, and scored the next seven Celtics points, including his fourth three (without a miss) of the night and a 15-footer for a 65-57 lead.

A pair of hoops from Hayward and a Theis dunk were vital over the next 1:30, for the Heat were scoring again, including a Robinson 3-pointer that cut the Celtics lead to 69-64 and then, with 3:25 left in the third, a Jones free throw that cut the margin to 71-67.

The Heat cut the Celtics lead as close as a point (73-72) on a Jones 3-pointer, before a Hayward pull-up and a Semi Ojeleye put-back pulled the Celtics out of this latest tailspin.

And when Dion Waiters cut the Celtics lead to a point once more, Wanamaker buried a bomb with 3.7 seconds left, courtesy of an offensive rebound and kick-out from Grant Williams.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2U09Sxs