The Celtics, all during this playoff run, have counted on bouncing back when their backs are against the wall. For most of Friday night, they looked like they would again.
But what’s that saying? When you mess around, you find out.
The Celtics led by double digits in the fourth quarter of Game 2 but couldn’t close the deal this time. Their worst nightmares came true as a spirited Jimmy Butler led the relentless Heat down the stretch. The Celtics didn’t have an answer in crunch time. They lost, 111-105. And now they head back to Miami in a bad spot, in a 2-0 series hole of these Eastern Conference Finals.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 34 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, but did most of his work in the first three quarters as Boston built a double-digit lead, only to see it slip away with the bad habits that have cost them in their worst losses.
After getting torched by the Heat in the third quarter of Game 1, the Celtics didn’t let history repeat itself on Friday.
They didn’t have a choice. The Celtics trailed by four at halftime and needed to come out of the locker room sharp. They went on a 6-0 run, capped by a Tatum two-handed slam, to give them a 61-60 lead and force a Heat timeout. The C’s pushed ahead by five after that timeout before the Heat brought it back to one with back-to-back easy buckets, and Mazzulla called a rare timeout.
That sparked some Bronx cheers from the crowd. But the Celtics responded with energy and a different bounce. Tatum took over, delivering a nasty step-back move on Jimmy Butler for three before a stop led to Tatum getting fouled on a 3-pointer.
The Celtics threatened to run away with the game when Tatum found Marcus Smart for a 3-pointer to build the lead to 11. But Caleb Martin responded with five consecutive points, and they trailed by a manageable eight points entering the fourth.
The Celtics led by 12 early in the fourth quarter behind an active Robert Williams. But the Heat fought back again thanks to a pair of Duncan Robinson 3-pointers that made it a four-point game with 8:40 to go. It got interesting down the stretch as things got heated between Grant Williams and Butler.
Williams, playing big minutes in his first action of the series, made a 3-pointer with 6:37 left and had words for Butler as they went the other way. When Butler then drew a foul on Williams for a three-point play, the two went face to face screaming at each other, each drawing technical fouls.
It may have backfired. Butler then made a jumper to cut Boston’s lead to four. They soon made it a two-point game when Robinson beat Jaylen Brown for a layup. Williams dunked it for a 100-96 lead but the Heat scored nine unanswered points. Butler tied the game on a pull-up jumper, then took the lead on a fadeaway sandwiched around a turnover by Marcus Smart as the Celtics’ crunch time offense locked up.
After Tatum was whistled for an offensive foul, the Celtics still trailed by three with less than 90 seconds to go when they let the Heat grab three offensive rebounds. Bam Adebayo got the last one and finished a thunderous two-handed slam, letting out a roar as he gave Miami a five-point lead with 55 seconds left.
Tatum was fouled on a 3-pointer the other way and made all three attempts to cut their deficit to two, but then Gabe Vincent drilled a 3-pointer from the wing for a 107-103 Heat lead with 35 seconds left.
Other takeaways from the loss:
– Grant Williams didn’t play in Game 1 as Mazzulla favored Payton Pritchard for a pair of stints, but the coach went away from that game plan in Game 2, giving Williams his first minutes in a big spot. It paid immediate dividends, and gave the Celtics much-needed energy. With Williams and Malcolm Brogdon on the floor, the C’s made energy plays on both ends of the floor with stops and offensive rebounding as they closed the first on an 11-2 run to take a 25-24 lead.
Williams stayed in the game to start the second quarter and the Celtics reeled off an 8-0 run to begin the period, which included Williams finding Derrick White for a 3-pointer before a quick steal led to a Brogdon triple. The run was 19-2 for Boston before the Heat called timeout, as the C’s turned an eight-point deficit into a nine-point lead.
– The Heat, as they typically do, didn’t quit, though. Aided by 14 first-half points from Caleb Martin off the bench, Miami went on a 14-2 run to tie the game at 42. And after taking criticism for not calling timeout as the Celtics were bludgeoned in the third quarter of Game 1, Mazzulla called one then. But it wasn’t effective. The Heat scored five consecutive points out of the timeout, and scored the final five of the half to take a four-point lead into the break.
– Tatum usually takes a rest to end the first or begin the second quarter, but he did neither for Game 2. He played the entire first quarter, and then the first three minutes of the second before finally sitting after putting up 14 points, five rebounds and four assists to open the game.
– Jaylen Brown didn’t look like himself, and did not seem totally comfortable to begin the game. The Celtics star missed eight of his first nine shots and many of them were forced looks. Perhaps he just needed to fight more to attack the basket as he got back-to-back buckets towards the end of the first half at the rim. His plus/minus in the first half was a team-worst minus-20.