Butler did it for Heat in beating Celtics 118-107 in Game 1

Game 2 is Thursday.

Boston led by 13 in the first half and took a 62-54 lead into halftime. Whatever Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said during intermission clearly worked.

A 22-2 run was how Miami started the second half, the run punctuated by steals that led to baskets on three consecutive possessions. Strus had one, the next two by Butler pushed the lead out to 76-64, and the Heat were off and running.

The lead reached 96-76 when Herro was fouled on a 3-point try and made all three free throws early in the fourth.

Boston had a run left; a 10-0 spurt cut the deficit in half, and a 3-pointer from Tatum made it a nine-point game — outcome still very much in doubt — with 7:35 left.

But the Heat had a response. PJ Tucker answered Tatum’s 3 with one of his own. Brown then connected from deep to get Boston within single digits again, only to have that one answered by a 3 from Strus.

Some of the plans that both sides had for Game 1 were thrown away about 3 1/2 hours before game time, when the Celtics revealed that Smart and Horford wouldn’t be playing. Smart’s absence was somewhat expected because of a mid-foot sprain he suffered in Game 7 of the East semifinals against Milwaukee on Sunday.

Horford’s absence, however, was a surprise.

He entered the league’s health and safety protocols Tuesday afternoon, which ruled him out of Game 1 and quite possibly could keep him out for multiple games going forward. And it’s not clear if any other Celtics could need testing.

“I’m honestly unsure about that as of now,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said pregame.

TIP-INS

Celtics: Boston’s biggest lead was 13 points. The Celtics are now 46-7 this season in games in which it led by at least that many. … Boston scored 18 points of the first 6 1/2 minutes of the first half, then two points in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the second half. … The Celtics trailed for only 16 seconds in the first two quarters. … Boston has dropped 17 of its last 26 East finals games.

Heat: Former Miami guard Goran Dragic was in attendance. … This series is the 50th in Heat postseason history. They’re now 28-22 in Game 1s. … Butler’s 15th point — a free throw 16 seconds into the second half — gave him 14,000 for his career, including playoffs. He’s the 220th NBA player to score that many. … Miami missed its first seven shots. … Tucker left in the second quarter to get his right ankle re-taped, then returned for the second half.

BLOCK PARTY

There were 20 blocked shots in the game — 12 by Miami, eight by Boston.

SECOND BEST (AND WORST)

The 25-point differential in the third quarter was the second-best for the Heat and the second-worst for the Celtics this season. Miami outscored Charlotte by 27 in the third quarter on Feb. 5. Boston was outscored by 28 points in the fourth quarter by Chicago on Nov. 1.

SLOW SECOND

Boston didn’t have a field goal in the first six minutes of the second half — the slowest start to a half in any of the Celtics’ 94 games this season. The previous low for field goals made in the opening 6:00 of a half by the Celtics this season, including playoffs, was one in the second half against the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 7.

___

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Butler did it for Heat in beating Celtics 118-107 in Game 1

What's Trending