Boston Celtics ‘not dead’ yet against Miami Heat

MIAMI – The Heat will look to continue their winning ways at home and push the Boston Celtics to the brink of elimination on Sunday when their Eastern Conference Finals series shift to Miami.

The eighth-seeded Heat have won all five of their home games in the National Basketball Association (NBA) play-offs thus far.

They have also backed the second-seeded Celtics into a corner by

winning the first two games of their best-of-seven series in Boston.

Jimmy Butler collected 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists in Miami’s 111-105 victory over Boston on Friday, while Bam Adebayo contributed 22, 17 and nine, respectively.

“Jimmy and Bam just really anchored us offensively,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, after their second straight victory at Boston’s TD Garden.

“It’s great when your two best players can lead you, in a place where the ball can go and everybody else is just playing off those guys.

“Both of them guarded everybody on the floor, basically at some point with the switches. They are going to burn a lot of calories on that end, but they have to shoulder massive responsibilities for us on the other end.”

However, the duo were not alone as Caleb Martin and Duncan Robinson added strong performances off the bench. Martin poured in 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the floor, while Robinson added 15 with a six-for-nine effort.

“I have so much faith in this group of guys,” Butler said.

Jayson Tatum led Boston in points (34), rebounds (13) and assists (eight) on Friday, but he failed to convert a field goal in the fourth quarter for the second straight game.

Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined to make just four of 17 attempts from three-point range.

Looking ahead to Game 3, Tatum said: “It’s tough. It’s a challenge. But there’s no point being sad and (expletive).

“They came in and won two games. They played well... you give them credit. But we’re not dead or anything. We’ve got a great opportunity. I still have the utmost confidence. Everybody has the utmost confidence. We’ve just got to get ready for Game 3.”

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was succinct when asked about his message to his team after they let a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter go by the boards in Game 2.

“We got to win one at a time,” he said.

And Boston also will need to be careful not to ignite a spark under Butler. Grant Williams unintentionally did that by getting in Butler’s face, with the latter later admitting that he was fuelled by the heated exchange.

“No matter if I lit him up or not, he’s going to do that,” Williams said.

“For me, it’s a matter of understanding that yeah, sure, you did poke a bear, quote unquote. And how are you going to respond?“

The Celtics will need to respond in Game 3. If they do not, the Heat will be on the brink of advancing to the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons.

Game 4 is slated for Tuesday night in Miami. REUTERS