‘Learning from our mistakes BOSTON — The Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat, who lacked depth, 118-84 on Wednesday to eliminate their venerable opponent in five games and move on to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Boston won the series to exact revenge for losing to Miami, a No. 8 seed, in the 2023 conference finals.
The star player for the Boston Celtics, Jayson Tatum, stated, “That’s how it should be — we should be learning from our mistakes and things we could have done better and applying it to the next season, because we’re trying to have a different outcome this year.” The victory was also essential to Boston’s development as a team.
The first round matchup ended nearly exactly as it had begun, with Boston making an early deep run while the Heat had trouble shooting from outside. Miami was only 3-of-29 from 3-point range, while the Celtics sank 16 of their attempts and made up 40% of the shots attempted.
Even with the Heat’s shooting display in Game 2 setting a new record, the series itself was never really in doubt. Erik Spoelstra’s team stunned Boston and its supporters 111-101 and tied the series 1-1 in that game after realizing it would need to make more 3-pointers to stay competitive.
However, the 23 field goals made in Game 2, a franchise playoff record, were greater than the 21 field goals Miami would make in the series’ final three games put together. In fact, over the course of their four series wins, the Celtics trailed for a total of just 56 seconds.
The Heat, who were without starters Jimmy Butler (knee) and Terry Rozier (neck), had trouble scoring on a regular basis. Game 5 was also missed by rookie starter Jaime Jaquez Jr. due to a strained hip flexor. In the final three games, Miami has finished with fewer than ninety points.
With 23 points and six assists in Game 5, Bam Adebayo led the Heat.
In contrast, Boston looked solid in its first postseason game without Kristaps Porzingis, who will be sidelined for at least the next week due to a right calf strain.
Two nights after lighting up Miami for a career-high 38 points, guard Derrick White was once again impressive on Wednesday, scoring a game-high 25 points. According to ESPN Stats & Information, his 13 3-pointers in the last two games are the most by a Celtics player over a two-game postseason span.
Jaylen Brown believes it’s oversimplified to suggest that Brown and Tatum should play more offensively now that Porzingis is out, and White’s rise demonstrates why.
“I think we just have to continue to play our game like we’ve been doing our whole career and continue to show our growth by trusting our teammates,” Brown stated. “I think if we’re going to win, we’re going to win as a team.”
Awaiting its opponent for the second round is Boston. Before Friday’s Game 6 in Orlando, the fourth-seeded Cavs hold a 3-2 lead over the fifth-seeded Magic.
Article Source espn.in
