Jeff Green Game Winner Beats Miami Heat, 111-110

Nov 8, 2013; Orlando, FL, USA; Boston Celtics shooting guard Jeff Green (8) high fives a fan after the Boston Celtics beat the Orlando Magic 91-89 at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

The Celtics achieved the impossible tonight by walking into American Airlines Arena and taking down the Miami Heat. The Celtics played well for most of the night after falling down early to the Miami Heat. However, efficient shooting and capitalizing off of a bunch of three point makes, winning the rebounding battles and a bit of charity from the Heat at the free throw line, the Celtics managed to come out with their third straight victory.

Jeff Green was the clear highlight of the night. He hit an impossible game winning shot with .06 left on the clock. The Celtics managed to foul Dwyane Wade after it looked like the game was over. He missed both of his next two free throws and the C’s got it back with .06 left. They got it to Green off of a cross court SLOB pass and magic just happened.

I’d have to review the play again to see how Green was even open off of the corner flare, but it was just a remarkable moment for a team that has low expectations. Here are some notes and thoughts from the game.

Celtics Recap Thoughts and Notes

• Like we said in our pregame preview, Green had to give something offensively if the Celtics were going to stay in this game. They managed to hang around and give themselves a shot at the end and, what do you know, Jeff Green finishes the game with 24 points.
• Avery Bradley played with a lot of poise tonight. He had his midrange game working for him and he was able to finish well at the rim tonight. He scored 17 points on 8-14 shooting and still managed to defend well enough throughout the game. This could be because of the pressure that Pressey and Crawford took off of his shoulders by playing the point guard role.
• The Celtics still have to work on interior defense. LeBron James was able to get to the rim whenever he wanted but that’s pretty normal. The issue was that a lot of his rim shots were uncontested. There were also a lot of passes to the rim and inside the paint–something you can’t have if you’re on the defensive end.
• Phil Pressey seems to be becoming more comfortable with the NBA level. He pushed the ball up the floor twice for uncontested layups when he noticed the Heat weren’t getting back. That’s a heady play by someone with a high basketball IQ. I really like this guy.
• Kelly Olynyk started his first game tonight and that might be what is best for him and his confidence. He still didn’t have the best shooting night but he was had a high impact on the glass game and was a great fulcrum in getting this offense rolling with his passing.
• Jared Sullinger played really well with 12 points and eight rebounds tonight in only 24 minutes. This is what you need out of your bigs from the Miami Heat when they go small. The bigs really played well as a unit.
• Brandon Bass only played 15 minutes tonight. He lost a majority of his minutes to Jared Sullinger who played really well–as stated in the previous note.
• Jeff Green is becoming quite the exciting player. He posterized Shane Battier tonight after taking Jason Maxiell’s soul last night. WHO IS HIS NEXT VICTIM!?!?
• SOMEBODY STOP LEBRON JAMES. HE’S TOO GOOD. HE’S CHEATING. LEBRON STOP. PLEASE PUT THE BALL DOWN.
• I thought that the game was over after Wade threw the ball into the air before missing both of the free throws. Goes to show that you have to pay attention to every second during the 48 minutes of hoops. What a game.
• Jeff Green is immortal.