The Miami Heat won 118-107 over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2022 on Tuesday night. It was a tale of two halves for Heath, which came to life in the third quarter to get rid of the deficit of eight points at halftime and continue to dominate the Celtics until the end of the game. Jimmy Butler scored 41 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the win, while Tyler Hero added 18 points from the bench for Heath.
Miami increased defensive pressure in the second half and made life difficult for Jason Tatum and Boston. Tatum finished the game with 29 points (21 in the first half) and Jaylan Brown added 24 points. Boston certainly missed Marcus Smart (out with a foot injury) and Al Horford (out on COVID’s health and safety protocols) at both ends of the floor, and while Horford may miss Match 2 in the league’s protocols, there is optimism that Smart you can go back for game 2 of this right leg sprain.
Here are three excerpts from Game 1 of the Heath and Celtics Eastern Conference Finals.
1. Jimmy has buckets
Butler was unstoppable throughout the game, but he really came to life in the second half, where he scored 27 of his 41 points overnight. He inflicted much of his damage on the free throw line, where he scored 17 points, outperforming several defenders with his fake pump to get a foul. But not only did Butler’s result matter to Heat, he managed to do it with his game, his rebound and perhaps most importantly his defense.
Butler ended the game with four stolen thefts, three of which came in the third quarter. There was a moment in this quarter when Butler came up with a series of thefts that led to easy quick rehearsals, increasing Miami’s lead and leaving the Celtics shocked after putting together a great performance in the first half. Butler also ended with three blocks, the last of which seemed like a statement, as he hit Tatum in an attempt for 3 points from a corner in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
During his previous tenure, Butler kicked a mid-range jumper over the Celtics guard Peyton Pritchard as he watched him down as he ran back to defense as if to say “you can’t keep me safe.” The rights of Butler, Pritchard and everyone else that Boston was trying to keep could not hold him back, and this led to an explosive performance by the Heath striker, who has already scored 40 or more points three times in those playoffs.
2. Boston collapsed in the third quarter
Things really fell apart for the Celtics in the third quarter, as they won 39-14 after halftime, leading by eight points in 24 minutes. Boston dominated the game in two quarters, with Tatum scoring 21 points in the first half, the Celtics generating 42 points in the fight and making 17 assists, showing great ball movement early in the game. But all this success in the first half flew out the window and not only did the Heat close the gap in the third quarter, they fully developed them and increased the lead by 20 points.
The defense of Credit Miami, as Heath strangled Tatum and closed the Boston attack almost as soon as halfway through the court, but some of this was due to mental errors of the Celtics. Tatum gained six turnovers in the third quarter as he withdrew from what helped him in the first half and began relying on a foul hunt to earn his points. This led to only five points from the striker of the superstar, who was struggling to find his shot again after a hot start to the match.
But the blame cannot be entirely on Tatum’s shoulders for this performance in the third quarter. For three-quarters of the game, Brown was essentially no factor, and by the time he finished the night with 24 points, most of that production came in the fourth quarter, when the Heat were already comfortably ahead.
The Celtics can’t afford to bring Brown to life when the game is virtually out of range, especially when the team has two starters at Smart and Horford. By the time Brown scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to help attempt a comeback, it was too little and too late for his heroic actions. Boston needed this production in the third quarter when Tatum was accumulating and no one else could generate points. If Brown had a bigger third quarter than just two points and 0 for 4 of the field he created, maybe Boston didn’t go into a 20-point deficit and would have a real hit at the end of the game. game.
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3. Vincent stepped up in Lowry’s absence
One of the main storylines for Heat, aimed at match 1, was how this team will cope with a game against defense like the Celtics without their starting guard in Kyle Lowry, who is dealing with a hamstring injury. While Miami scored 6-0 in previous playoffs in which Lowry was in the playoffs, the team still faced a dominant and flexible opponent like the Celtics.
Obviously, this was not a big concern, as Gabe Vincent collected an impressive performance and finished the game with 17 points, three assists, three blocks and two rebounds, while shooting 50 percent of the field and 43 percent of depth. His performance in the third quarter was one of the reasons Heath managed to take such a big lead, as he scored 10 points while playing all 12 minutes in the third quarter.
It’s not entirely surprising to see Vincent have an impact on Heath, given that he showed some glimpses of that in the second round against the 76ers, but I guess not many have predicted that he will be the second top scorer among the starters for the heat tonight. It is unclear when Lowry will return to Heat in this series, but in the meantime Vincent has shown that he can replace him when needed.
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