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Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics
It was a disappointing last game for the Miami Heat who fell on the road to the Toronto Raptors who have been struggling all year round. Miami fell 119-116 in a game where Jimmy Butler picked up another injury. A big problem for the Heat blocking them from winning a championship has been staying healthy during the season and playoffs. The Heat travel to TD Garden to face the Boston Celtics in which they would be without Butler, Kevin Love, Josh Richardson, and Nikola Jovic.
For the Heat it was both Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr taking the amount of the offensive duty both scoring 19 points. A big focal point has been the struggles of Bam Adebayo as this was a game where he really needed to step up and only finished with 15 points. Haywood Highsmith would complete the night with 10 points followed by Duncan Robinson with a poor night with just five points. The most the Heat got out of their bench was from Dru Smith who put up eight points.
The defending champion Boston Celtics had another productive night from one of their superstars in Jaylen Brown who produced 29 points. Straight off the bench exploding would be Payton Pritchard going off for 25 points. The Heat killer Derrick White who was questionable to play would cap the night off with 19 points. It was a slow night for Jayson Tatum only going for 16 points but when you have such a support system you really don't need to go all out.
A moment worth recognizing for the Heat in this game was the debut of Keshad Johnson who scored two points in seven minutes. The Celtics fell the night before to Eastern Conference leaders the Cleveland Cavaliers and have not lost back-to-back all season. At the end of the third quarter the Celtics had their biggest lead of the night up 22 after Pritchard hit a buzzer beater three-pointer.
Pritchard becomes the first player in the association this season to score 20 or more from the bench for four straight games. He would be the first Celtic to accomplish this feature since Isaiah Thomas in 2015. The Celtics did this much damage without Jrue Holiday, Al Hereford, and Kristaps Porzingis which just goes to show you how deep Boston really is. The Celtics would easily cruise on by the Heat by a final score of 108-89.
Next up for the Miami Heat is a home game welcoming the Los Angeles Lakers to the Kaseya Center.
Written by: Daniel Torres
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