Tag: Miami Heat

Celtics Notes: Boston Gives Honest Assessment Of Game 4 Loss Vs. Heat — NESN.com

Sign In Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro showcased a great individual effort to propel his team to a 112-109 Game 4 victory Wednesday night. But that wasn’t the sole reason the Celtics now face a 3-1 deficit in the Eastern Conference finals. That would be letting Boston off the hook far too easy. Boston didn’t…

Celtics Notes: Boston Gives Honest Assessment Of Game 4 Loss Vs. Heat — NESN.com

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro showcased a great individual effort to propel his team to a 112-109 Game 4 victory Wednesday night.

But that wasn’t the sole reason the Celtics now face a 3-1 deficit in the Eastern Conference finals. That would be letting Boston off the hook far too easy.

Boston didn’t control what they could have. The team came out flat and was out-hustled for key rebounds late, which Miami almost always made them pay for. The arguably biggest factor was Boston’s own offensive miscues — committing seven fourth-quarter turnovers with 19 (!) in the game.

“There’s so many different aspects,” Kemba Walker said during his postgame press conference when asked the biggest factor behind the loss, as seen on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “Definitely some turnovers, offensive rebounds. They definitely had a lot of opportunities to score the basketball. So yeah, a lot of different things.”

Head coach Brad Stevens had a similar reaction.

“They turned us over in the fourth quarter. Those were huge plays, against the zone,” Stevens said. “We got to do a better job with handling the ball. We got to do a better job with taking care of it. But I thought that and just the rebounding, those multiple possessions where they got multiple rebounds, and our first-half shooting, probably did us in tonight.”

“… Herro’s shot-making tonight was, in addition to the things we just talked about that were our own issues, was the difference in the game. Jimmy (Butler) was great late. (Bam) Adebayo was his typical self. (Goran) Dragic made some big plays, but Herro was ridiculously good tonight. The rim must’ve looked like the ocean to him.”

Jaylen Brown added: “(I) think (Miami) made some tough shots. Think they made a lot of tough shots, the rookie Tyler Herro made a lot of tough shots. I think that’s what stands out the most.”

Herro concluded with 37 points, 17 of which came in the fourth. Boston, however, took an 85-84 lead with just shy of nine minutes left in the fourth. It ultimately disappeared due to their turnovers and mistakes down the stretch.More NBA:Celtics Wrap: Tyler Herro Leads Heat To Game 4 Win, 3-1 Series Lead

Here are some other notes from Wednesday’s Celtics-Heat game:

— Boston shot 40% from the field in the first half as the Heat took a then eight-point lead before holding a 50-44 advantage at the break.

Celtics players were at a loss for what happened, and why after four days off, they came out looking the way they did.

“I can’t explain why,” Walker said. “I don’t know, to be honest… But at the end of the day, we just have to be better.”

Stevens even said Boston was fortunate to trail just six at half.

“I thought our first half, we looked, for whatever reason, we didn’t look crisp,” Stevens said. “And obviously that showed itself in our shooting numbers. I thought we were lucky to be 50-44 at halftime, to be candid. … For whatever reason our first half just wasn’t as good as it’s been.”

— Tatum fit that slow start, as well.

The NBA All-Star didn’t score during his first 22 minutes of game action, before a 3-pointer with seven minutes left in the third quarter.

“I wasn’t aggressive enough. I didn’t score in the first half, that’s unacceptable. So, I know I have to play better,” Tatum said. “It’s tough. Like I said, they played better than us in the first half. Second half we picked it up but they were already in a rhythm, and they felt good about themselves a lot of guys made a number of good plays, and it’s tough to come back from.”

— And just like that, Game 5 is just around the corner.

One message that was echoed throughout the team was the fact that the Celtics have to turn the page quickly as it’s now ‘Win Or Go Home’ time. And while their 3-1 deficit may be daunting, the Celtics are just looking at playing their best game yet on Friday, nothing more.

“I don’t know the historical odds are, or whatever that, and that doesn’t really matter. The situation we’re in we have to play well Friday. We don’t have to win three games on Friday, we have to win one. That’s going to be our focus, that’s going to be our attention,” Stevens said.

— Game 5 will be held Friday with tip off set for 8:30 p.m. ET.More NBA:Celtics Give Emotional Reactions To Decision In Breonna Taylor Case

The post Celtics Notes: Boston Gives Honest Assessment Of Game 4 Loss Vs. Heat appeared first on NESN.com.

Celtics fall in Game 4 to Miami, 112-109 — Boston Herald

Much has been made of the Celtics’ so-called core five this week. They’re the unit Brad Stevens goes with late in games, with Daniel Theis plugged in depending on the matchup, and Wednesday night the combination of Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker and Gordon Hayward simply didn’t have a timely answer. Especially…

Celtics fall in Game 4 to Miami, 112-109 — Boston Herald

Back to work: Celtics, Heat start getting ready for Game 4 — Boston Herald

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Getting angry worked wonders for the Boston Celtics. Their first win in these Eastern Conference finals just happened to come two nights after Marcus Smart sparked a loud and emotional series of shouting matches inside the Celtics’ locker room, all of that starting only a few seconds after the Miami…

Back to work: Celtics, Heat start getting ready for Game 4 — Boston Herald

Celtics take Game 3 over Miami, 117-106 — Boston Herald

Their most emotional night of the season behind them – every team has some scarring, said coach Brad Stevens – the Celtics came out in even-tempered, efficient form Saturday night. Gone were the runs on turnovers, the blown leads, and especially, confusion against Miami’s 3-2 zone. Jaylen Brown attacked the rim in a 26-point, 11-for-16…

Celtics take Game 3 over Miami, 117-106 — Boston Herald

Butler on loss: Digging out of big holes ‘gets old’ — VOICE OF THE HWY

1:21 AM ET The Miami Heat‘s habit of falling into big second-half holes finally caught up to them during Saturday night’s 117-106 loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night. After overcoming a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit in Game 1 and a 15-point third-quarter deficit in Game 2, […]

Butler on loss: Digging out of big holes ‘gets old’ — VOICE OF THE HWY

The Miami Heat‘s habit of falling into big second-half holes finally caught up to them during Saturday night’s 117-106 loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night.

After overcoming a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit in Game 1 and a 15-point third-quarter deficit in Game 2, the Heat fell down by as many as 20 in Game 3 and could never get back on track.

It’s a pattern that Heat players and coaches have discussed openly about fixing over the past few days, but it was the Celtics who set the tone early yet again Saturday night in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

“We’ve got to start the game how we start the fourth,” Heat All-Star big man Bam Adebayo said. “I feel like we’re not the type of team where we can go through the motions and try and figure out everything in the first half, and then in the third or fourth, we just try to turn it on. It’s not like that. We are not that type of team.”

The Celtics used a 31-22 first quarter to set an early tone that they were able to build upon throughout the night. The Heat did not have an answer for the Celtics’ aggression and did a much better job defensively on Heat guard Goran Dragic, holding the sharpshooter to just 2-for-10 from the field.

“I think it gets old, playing from behind, consistently,” Heat All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler said. “Especially against a great team like Boston and what they bring to the table.”

The Heat now have to wait until Game 4 on Wednesday night to fix the same issue that has hampered them throughout the series. Despite still holding a 2-1 series lead, players expressed frustration afterward, as they lost for just the second time in the postseason bubble.

“We’ve got to play with detail,” Adebayo said. “I feel like we’ve got to work on our offense a little bit. They got us on our heels. They were out there hooping it up and having fun. I feel like that was the big difference in the game. They jumped out on us, and I guess they got tired of us being down 13 and coming back and winning. We’ve just got to do a better job of not letting ourselves get in a big deficit.”

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra gave the Celtics credit for keeping their foot on the gas pedal after losing focus over the first two games of the series.

“Look, this is the playoffs,” Spoelstra said. “So you deal with whatever is in front of you. They came out, Boston did, with great force in this game and you do have to credit them for that. They sustained it for the better majority of the game. We were on our heels most of the game.”

The Heat remain confident in themselves, but it’s a trend they know they must fix to continue their dream run in the bubble. Aside from the fact they fell into yet another early hole, what frustrated Butler is that he knows his team can play harder. He acknowledged after Game 2 that the Celtics had more talent on paper than the Heat do, and he knows that to get to the NBA Finals, they have to make up for that talent disparity in other areas.

“We didn’t play hard enough,” Butler said. “I think we didn’t do anything that we said that we were going to do. We knew how they were going to attack us. We weren’t helping each other. We weren’t making an extra pass a lot of the times. We have to play basketball the way we have been playing the games that we have been winning. We understand that. There’s nothing that Coach can say. There’s nothing that OG [Udonis Haslem] can say. We get it. We have to be the ones to fix that.”

Why Celtics downplayed ‘emotional’ locker room blowup following Game 2 loss to Heat — Portal4News

Mark Medina   | USA TODAY With frustrations running high, the voices in the Boston Celtics’ locker room became increasingly loud. So loud that reporters on site could hear Celtics guard Marcus Smart and other players having heated conversations following their 106-101 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, which […]

Why Celtics downplayed ‘emotional’ locker room blowup following Game 2 loss to Heat — Portal4News

USA TODAY

With frustrations running high, the voices in the Boston Celtics’ locker room became increasingly loud.

So loud that reporters on site could hear Celtics guard Marcus Smart and other players having heated conversations following their 106-101 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, which puts Boston in an 0-2 series deficit.

“It was nothing. It was nothing,” Celtics guard Kemba Walker said. “Ain’t nothing happening in the locker room. I don’t know what you’re talking about, to be honest. We’ll be fine.”

The Celtics hardly looked fine in Game 2.

They squandered a 17-point lead as Miami outscored Boston 37-17 in the third quarter. The Heat scored 26 points off the Celtics’ 19 turnovers. And after holding a 94-89 lead with 4:25 left following a 15-2 run, the Heat responded with a 17-7 run while the Celtics missed four of their last six shots and committed three turnovers. This all happened two days after Boston blew a 14-point lead in Game 1.

GAME 2 COLLAPSE: Heat rally again to stun Celtics for 2-0 lead

BUBBLE BALL: Have playoff games been better in the bubble?

NO BATTLE OF LA: Lakers insist they didn’t care about Clippers

No wonder the Celtics expressed displeasure in the locker room afterwards. As Celtics coach Brad Stevens said, “guys were emotional after a hard game, hard loss.”

“We’re down 0-2. We’re frustrated. But that’s team sports,” Celtics forward Jayson Tatum said. “No one should be happy to be down 0-2. But nothing out of the ordinary. Just talking about the game.”

“He plays with passion, he’s full of fire and that’s what I love about him most.”

Jaylen Brown on Marcus Smart and reported heated Celtics locker room after Game 2 loss pic.twitter.com/rNa9etgTDZ

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 18, 2020

Celtics players did not necessarily talk about the game in the locker room. They screamed about the game with expletives. But when they went to the interview room, they sounded stoic and polite.

“What happens in the locker room got to stay in the locker room,” Tatum said. “We’re not supposed to come out here and talk about what we talk about as a team. Win or lose. That’s why we go to the locker room when we talk to each other, whether we win or we lose.”

The reason for the Celtics’ loss points to many areas.

The Heat’s entire starting lineup cracked double figures, including Goran Dragic (25 points), Bam Adebayo (21), Duncan Robinson (18), Jimmy Butler (14) and Jae Crowder (12). Miami dominated Boston on the offensive glass (11-6). The Celtics struggled against the Heat’s zone defense in the third quarter, while shooting 4-of-12 from the field.

Although the Celtics had Walker (23 points) Tatum (21), Jaylen Brown (21) and Smart (14) reach double figures, they could not prevail in crunch time. Walker missed a 3-pointer as Miami held a 97-95 lead with 2:06 left. Smart clanked a 3-pointer on the next possession before committing a turnover. Then it was Brown’s turn to miss from deep as the Heat had a 104-101 lead with only 15.1 seconds left.

“We didn’t continue to do the things that we did to get us up and get us that lead,” Walker said. “I think we got kind of comfortable. Those guys, they took advantage of it. They played hard. They played really hard. They played a lot harder than us. They wanted it.”

All of which led to some frustrations afterwards. So much that the Celtics don’t plan to have a formal practice Friday. Either way, they will have plenty to address before Game 3 on Saturday. Perhaps then, voices won’t be raised.

“Got to fix some things up,” Tatum said. “Two times now we’ve had a couple double-digit leads and we let go of the ropes. We got to figure out why that keeps happening. Just have to be prepared to win the next one.”

Follow USA TODAY NBA writer Mark Medina on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Celtics drop Game 2, fall behind Miami 2-0 — Boston Herald

There were multiple reports of the sound of furniture being thrown inside the Celtics locker room, and the sight of Marcus Smart storming out as he uttered some choice words. 891 more words

Celtics drop Game 2, fall behind Miami 2-0 — Boston Herald

Best Defensive Play Ever? NBA Legend In Awe Of Bam Adebayo’s Game 1 Block — NESN.com

https://youtube.com/watch?v=xJxSfxbE47c%3Fversion%3D3%26rel%3D1%26fs%3D1%26autohide%3D2%26showsearch%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26iv_load_policy%3D1%26wmode%3Dtransparent

Is Magic Johnson on to something or was the Los Angeles Lakers legend simply a victim of the moment? Bam Adebayo helped seal the Miami Heat’s 117-114 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night by stuffing Jayson Tatum at the rim with seconds remaining in overtime. […]

Best Defensive Play Ever? NBA Legend In Awe Of Bam Adebayo’s Game 1 Block — NESN.com

Celtics’ Walker, Heat’s Butler waited years for East finals — The China Post, Taiwan

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Kemba Walker and Jimmy Butler entered the NBA on the same night. They’ve paid their dues since the 2011 NBA draft. Butler is a five-time All-Star, Walker a four-time selection. Walker has the better scoring numbers, Butler the better defensive numbers. Butler leads with a style that’s often erroneously […]

Celtics’ Walker, Heat’s Butler waited years for East finals — The China Post, Taiwan

Horoscopes Sept. 14, 2020: Jimmy Butler, take your time and evaluate each scenario with discretion — Times-Standard

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Jimmy Butler, 31; Dilshad Vadsaria, 35; Andrew Lincoln, 47; Robert Herjavec, 58.  Happy Birthday: A desire for change will tempt you to move or rethink your direction this year. Take your time, and evaluate each scenario with discretion. Impulsiveness and stubbornness will be your downfall if you let emotions be…

Horoscopes Sept. 14, 2020: Jimmy Butler, take your time and evaluate each scenario with discretion — Times-Standard

Celtics-Heat Eastern Conference Finals Will Tip Off Tuesday Night — CBS Boston

The Celtics are back in the Eastern Conference Finals, where they’ll face the Miami Heat. At the moment, we know when three of those games will be played.

Celtics-Heat Eastern Conference Finals Will Tip Off Tuesday Night — CBS Boston

The Celtics are back in the Eastern Conference Finals, where they’ll face the Miami Heat. At the moment, we know when three of those games will be played.

Well, for the most part, at least. We don’t know exactly what time some of those games will be played, but we do have some dates. So we’ve got that going for us, which is nice.

Game 1 of the Celtics-Heat Eastern Conference Finals will tip off on Tuesday night, Sept. 15, but the time of that game depends on the Clippers-Nuggets Western Conference Semifinals. If the Nuggets force a Game 7, then the Celtics and the Heat will tip off at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. If Los Angeles closes out Denver on Sunday afternoon, then Boston and Miami will tip off at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

After a late night Friday, everyone should be rooting for a Game 7 in the Clippers-Nuggets series.

Game 2 of the Celtics-Heat series is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 17, with the time TBD. Game 3 is set for Saturday, Sept. 19 at 8:30 p.m., according to NBA.com.

Nothing after that is on the docket yet, but chances are the NBA will keep its every-other-day schedule, meaning Games 4-7 would be Monday (Sept. 21), Wednesday (Sept. 23), Friday (Sept. 25) and Sunday (Sept. 27). You know, if Games 5-7 are necessary.

The Celtics needed seven games to send the defending champion Toronto Raptors home, while the Heat moved on after dispatching the Milwaukee Bucks in five games in the second-round. Like Boston, Miami swept their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers. Miami is 8-1 in the playoffs after going just 3-5 in its seeding games.

One of those seeding-game wins came against the Celtics, a 112-106 victory on Aug. 4 without Jimmy Butler. The Celtics won their two matchups against the Heat during the regular season.

“I know we always think we’re going to win every game we play,” Jayson Tatum said of the upcoming series. “We didn’t come down here just for the first and second rounds. We didn’t really pay attention to outside noise, whether we were favorite or not. That doesn’t matter to us. It’s all about the guys in that locker room. We know what we’re capable of, we just got to get out there and do it.”

“We’re going to just take our time, rest our bodies up, take a few days and get prepared for a great team,” added Kemba Walker. “Those guys, they balled last series. Those guys are nothing but players.”

No Giannis, no problem: Bucks top Heat in OT, force Game 5 — The Florida Daily Post

The Milwaukee Bucks avoided a sweep by beating the Miami Heat 118-115 in overtime of Game 4.

No Giannis, no problem: Bucks top Heat in OT, force Game 5 — The Florida Daily Post

Giannis Antetokounmpo was waiting in the locker room for his teammates Sunday, standing on his bad right ankle to greet every one of them.

His day ended early.

His season isn’t over yet.

Khris Middleton scored 36 points, including a big 3-pointer with 6.4 seconds left in overtime, and the Milwaukee Bucks avoided a sweep by beating the Miami Heat 118-115 in overtime of Game 4 of the teams’ Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The Heat still lead 3-1, but the Bucks — the best team in the regular season — are still alive, even after Antetokounmpo left early in the second quarter with an aggravation of his sprained right ankle.

“Khris is very unique,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “He’s got a way about him. He wanted to play. He asked to stay in the game.”

As if there was any other option. Middleton’s season-high before Sunday was 40 minutes; he logged 48 in Game 4, taking over with Antetokounmpo watching from the locker room.

“Just keep fighting,” said Middleton, who also had eight rebounds and eight assists. “That’s all my teammates did.”

Bam Adebayo had 26 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists for Miami. Duncan Robinson scored 20 points, Jae Crowder had 18, and Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler each finished with 17 for the Heat.

“We didn’t deserve to win that game,” Butler said.

Miami had an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter, promptly allowed the Bucks to score the next 12, and now needs to come back Tuesday in an effort to finish the series off.

“At the end of the day, we should have played like we did in Game 1, Game 2 and Game 3,” Adebayo said.

Antetokounmpo scored 19 points for the Bucks in only 11 minutes, while Brook Lopez and Eric Bledsoe each had 14 for Milwaukee. George Hill added 12 for the Bucks.

Miami managed only two points in the first 4:30 of overtime, got within one on a 3-pointer from Tyler Herro, but Middleton delivered the biggest shot of the night to make it 116-112.

Herro made another 3-pointer with 3.0 seconds left, but Middleton sealed it with a pair of free throws — and Miami coach Erik Spoelstra lauded Milwaukee’s effort afterward.

“The reality is, they deserved to win the game,” Spoelstra said. “They were doing things with more force, more consistency.”

Antetokounmpo had 19 of Milwaukee’s first 30 points, shooting 8-for-10 from the floor. But in an instant, everything changed for the Bucks.

Antetokounmpo aggravated his sprained right ankle with 10:18 left in the second quarter, rolling it inward — just as he did in Game 3 on Friday — as he tried to drive past Miami’s Andre Iguodala. He tumbled to the court, grabbing the ankle and screaming in pain.

He took the free throws; without doing that, he would not have been permitted to return. But at halftime, the Bucks delivered the word that he would not be back.

So, his game was over.

The Bucks’ season wasn’t. Milwaukee said Antetokounmpo would get plenty of treatment Sunday night and Monday before a decision is made about his availability for Tuesday.

“He’s going to be back,” Bledsoe said.

Middleton did all he could to keep the Bucks afloat, scoring 21 points in the third quarter — the highest-scoring quarter of his career — on 6 for 9 shooting from the field and 7 for 7 from the foul line. His previous quarter-best was 20, on Nov. 1, 2017, against Charlotte.

He set the tone, and the Bucks’ season is still alive.

“We’ve got to fight every night to keep on playing,” Middleton said.

Tip-ins

Bucks: Milwaukee missed 19 consecutive 3-pointers — its last 12 of Game 3 and first seven of Game 4 — before Antetokounmpo connected late in the first quarter. … Milwaukee won despite getting outscored 51-33 on 3-pointers.

Heat: Miami was looking to become the first No. 5 seed in NBA history to go 8-0 in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Heat were the last unbeaten team in this year’s playoffs. … The Heat lost for only the fourth time in their last 17 series-closeout opportunities.

Sweep averted

The Bucks avoided becoming the first overall No. 1 seed to get swept from the playoffs since 2001 when the Los Angeles Lakers did it to top-seeded San Antonio in the Western Conference finals. Budenholzer was a Spurs assistant at that time.

Big minutes

Middleton wasn’t the only Milwaukee player to log big minutes. Lopez played 42, Bledsoe 40, and Hill 37. “We’re absolutely a family. We always have each other’s backs,” Lopez said.

Up next

Game 5 is Tuesday.