Celtics Balanced Scoring Secures Win Over Heat
Boston Celtics overcome sluggish start, rely on energy from bench to get win over Miami Heat.
The Boston Celtics may not be a mathematical lock to make the playoffs, but their recent home dominance is starting to turn heads among Eastern Conference coaches, players, and fans. The Celtics had won nine straight at TD Garden after a win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, and looked to extend that streak on Saturday afternoon against the visiting Miami Heat.
The Celtics sat just above the Heat in the East standings before the 3PM tip with the three seed on the line. The result of this game, against a veteran heavy Miami team with plenty of playoff experience, not only had a huge impact on the standings, but maybe even more so on the psyche of the youthful and largely inexperienced Celtics. A win over an established Eastern Conference team would surely boost the confidence of Brad Stevens‘ Celtics.
The Boston Celtics and the TD Garden crowd were equally sluggish for the early afternoon tip against the Miami Heat on Saturday. The visiting fourth place Heat, however, sensed the lethargy, and the veteran-laden starting lineup jumped out to an early advantage. For much of the first quarter, the Heat were able to dictate the pace of the contest and maintain a comfortable lead.
After eight minutes of clock time, the Celtics were 3-15 from the field with five turnovers. In a game with heavy playoff implications, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens saw the need to create some energy on the floor and in the building. Stevens’ sleepy starters were replaced by the familiar faces of Evan Turner, Marcus Smart, Tyler Zeller and Jonas Jerebko, and the flow of the game immediately changed in the Celtics’ favor.
The 29th ranked Miami offense began to show its true colors by committing four turnovers in the opening minutes of the second quarter. The Celtics’ hungry reserve corps capitalized nicely on the Heat giveaways and cut into the lead. The run hit its peak with a Marcus Smart back-door dime to a cutting Evan Turner, who glided toward the basket behind Heat defenders’ spinning heads and floated in for an uncontested reverse slam. Finally, the Celtics normally raucous crowd came alive.
The core of the Celtics’ starters joined the hot shooting Evan Turner, but seemed to have the same tired and uninspired demeanor seen early in the game. As the first half winded down, the Celtics saw the Heat build up their lead yet again.
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The story of the first half was both the lack of energy from the Celtics starters and the way the reserves were able to keep the home team alive. Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder combined to shoot 1-15 in the first half, while NBA Sixth Man of the Year candidate Evan Turner led all scorers with 11 first half points. The Celtics trailed the Heat 49-46 at the intermission.
The Celtics’ coaching staff clearly woke up their starting five during the half. In the third quarter the Celtics played more in line with their developing identity and were able to dictate the pace better than in the first 24 minutes. Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas finally saw some shots go down and the rest of the starters followed suit. At one point Boston ran out to a five point lead by speeding up the pace, much to the chagrin of a Heat team whose success comes from slowing down the game and limiting possessions. The Celtics recently dreadful defense also tightened in the third quarter, holding the Heat to 21 points.
The fourth quarter began with the Celtics trailing only by a deuce. The next few minutes saw multiple ties and lead changes as both teams seemed to realize the impact of the game on potential playoff seeding. This was evident when Celtics guard Avery Bradley tweaked an ankle after a drive, yet continued to play through the pain.
Just after the halfway mark of the final quarter, the Celtics offense began to catch fire. The Celtics held a 84-82 lead with just under six minutes remaining and never looked back. Boston would finish the game on a 17-7 run that featured baskets by multiple starters. The Celtics offense was able to keep a good balance in scoring down the stretch, not allowing Miami’s second ranked defense to key in on any one player. The offensive rebounding of the Celtics front court allowed the home team extra possessions and Celtics fourth quarter killer, Isaiah Thomas, capitalized with two huge layups to extend the lead. The Celtics would go on to win 101-89 for their 10th straight home victory.
Miami Heat point guard Goran Dragic gave the Celtics problems with his shooting and driving, scoring a team high 21 points. The physically gifted center Hassan Whiteside had an impressive stat line as well with 13 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocked shots. Veteran guard Dwyane Wade added 19 points, but could not lead his team to a road victory.
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The win on Saturday afternoon keeps the Celtics at third place in the Eastern Conference and gives Boston the standings tiebreaker over the Heat if the two teams finish with same records. The Celtics continue their home stand Monday at 7:30PM EST as they host the Utah Jazz at TD Garden.