POST GAME MIAMI HEAT - HOME - MIA 105, BOS 110 Final

Celtics Wrap: Boston Nearly Blows 23-Point Lead In 110-105 Win Vs. Heat

NESN by Logan Mullen on Mon, Apr 1, 2019 at 9:45PM

BOSTON — These Boston Celtics sure like to make things interesting.

The Celtics nearly let a big lead get totally away from them Monday night, but held on to earn a 110-105 victory over the Miami Heat at TD Garden.

It’s been somewhat common for the Celtics to squander a big lead this season, and they were in serious danger of letting it happen yet again. During the second quarter they got their advantage up to 23, but in the fourth quarter the Heat had knocked it down to as few as three. Despite the scare, Boston held on to earn the victory.

Al Horford notched a triple-double, tallying 19 points with 10 assists and 11 rebounds. Kyrie Irving scored a team-high 25 points, while Jayson Tatum (19 points), Marcus Smart (16) and Gordon Hayward (11) also scored in the double digits.

Goran Dragic dropped a game-high 30 points and was one of five Heat providing double-digit scoring.

With the win, the Celtics climb to 46-32, while the Heat fall to 38-39 with the loss.

Here’s how it all went down.

STARTING FIVE
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Aron Baynes

DOMINANT
The Celtics got off to a red-hot start, pounding the Heat 36-17 in the first quarter.

It didn’t take long for Boston to get going, opening the first 3:52 of the game on a 10-2 run, forcing Heat coach Erik Spoelstra into a timeout. Smart was responsible for five of those points, and the stretch included this impressive play.

The Celtics upped their lead to 20-4 before Spoelstra was forced into another timeout at the 5:27 mark. They continued to pour on points the rest of the quarter, which featured some more fireworks.

Tatum led all players with 11 points in the quarter.

C’S STAY ON TOP
The Heat were unable to put much of a dent into the deficit in the second. Though the Celtics were outscored 30-25 in the quarter, they went into the half ahead 61-47.

Eight unanswered points for the Heat just before the midway point of the quarter got Miami’s deficit down to 13. Following the Heat’s spurt, the Celtics went on a 7-0 run of their own to get the lead back up to 20, where it hovered the most the rest of the half. However, Miami scored nine of the quarter’s last 11 points to make the deficit a bit more manageable heading into the break.

Much like the first quarter, there were plenty of highlights in the second, two of which were thanks to Horford.

Irving led all players with 15 points in the half.

SLIPPING AWAY
The Heat started chipping away late in the first half, and they carried that momentum into the third quarter. The Celtics were outscored 30-27 in the frame, taking an 88-77 lead into the final stanza.

Behind as many as 23 in the first half, with 6:28 left in the third the Heat had managed to trim their deficit down to six. Once their lead got that low, the Celtics started to show a little bit more urgency, getting their advnatge back up to the double digits.

For pretty much the rest of the quarter, the two sides traded chances, with Boston’s lead hanging around nine points.

Dragic led all players with 13 points in the third.

C’S HOLD ON
The Celtics avoided catastrophe in the fourth quarter, earning the victory despite getting outscored 25-20 in the frame.

Things really started getting scary for the Celtics with 6:44 left in regulation, when three Kelly Olynyk free throws cut Boston’s lead to three. But once it got that low the Celtics delivered a nice response, with Tatum and Terry Rozier hitting treys to bring the advantage back to nine.

After Boston’s rebuttal, the Heat managed to pull back within three with just two minutes left in the game, but they couldn’t get any closer the rest of the way.

With 1:25 left, Irving got an old-fashioned 3-pointer, drawing an and-one on a layup. The Celtics led by six after Irving knocked down the free throw. Dwyane Wade pulled Miami back within four on a put-back, then the Celtics were unable to answer the next trip down.

After Olynyk threw the ball away with 25 seconds left, the Heat had to resort to fouling the Celtics the rest of the way, and Boston made sure not to miss, securing the win.

PLAY OF THE GAME
Horford getting physical.

UP NEXT
The Celtics will hit the road to play the Heat on Wednesday in Miami. Tip from AmericanAirlines Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

112288

STARTING FIVE
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Aron Baynes

I still like that as the best starting lineup right now, which also creates a strong and balanced bench. So the team looks good coming out of the gate.

But what is going on with the second half? Might be best to just go home at the break.

As to the 2nd half woes, the Celts could use a gunner off the bench (think Eddie House) but Hayward and Morris are used to being starters so they don't bring that manic-like energy. Rozier should have stepped up to this role but not surprisingly he didn't grasp that or much of anything...

Why did Jaylen not play? A conflicting chess tourney?

Two bad things I noticed as were losing that lead in 4th, we had a bigger lead then Rozier came in. Brad can’t let Kyrie be the selfish ball hog he is, Kyrie also matched Rozier almost making as many boneheaded plays as Rozier. We need Smart in there or anyone GH, Tatum? so Kyrie can attack off the ball. This has to be mixed in, we can’t let Kyrie do everything, he’s not that good, he’s good, but seen him blow too many 4th’s by having ball too much....

worcester wrote:Why did Jaylen not play? A conflicting chess tourney?

Back spasms

Chess is a very demanding game.

Seriously, though, I hope he recovers pronto. We need him.

This is a different team with Baynes starting.

It took Brad all season to figure out that they needed his size and strength.

Duh.

Well it was obvious the Morris-Horford pairing can not adequately rebound or defend well enough to win games consistently even though we might have beat some crappy teams with it.

dboss wrote:This is a different team with Baynes starting.

It took Brad all season to figure out that they needed his size and strength.

well, there has been the many nagging injuries Baynes has had this year too, to be fair.

Why be fair when bitching makes us feel so self important?

Nice worcester!

At least when we lose these leads now, we're not losing the game in the end. I think the big leads vanishing is the new NBA with the emphasis on the 3-ball. When your opponents can hit 3-4 3's in a row and you clank one, turnover one in succession, no lead is safe no matter how good you are.

db

If Aron stays healthy and JB returns we can make some noise.

This team does not have a "killer instinct".  They're vegetarians, maybe even vegans.  How many times have we heard 10X World Champion Tommy Heinsohn say, when you've got your opponents back on their heels, "Step On Their Throats!"?  They don't even step on their toes.

Tatum with 11 first quarter points.  Didn't score again until well into the 3rd quarter.  He's just as inconsistent as the rest of the team.  

Morris 3-11.  Not hearing him chirp much anymore, are we?

Rozier 1-5.  He's shooting 34.7% over his last 10 games.  That is even worse than the 38.4% he's shooting on the year, which is itself an improvement over his career 37.9% fg%.  In short, the only time Terry Rozier is scary is when he shoots.  Danny will give him the qualifying offer to retain control but I sure hope that someone either outbids us or will give us a pick for him.  I'm done with him.  Maybe he'll flip the switch come playoff time like he did last year.  Yeah, maybe.

Hayward with a modest 11 points, but on 4-7.  This is the first time this season Gordon Hayward has scored in double-digits for 5 straight games.  Is 11 points something to get excited about?  No, but his increasing consistency is.  Rozier cannot be trusted to shoot.  Morris blows hot and cold.  Gerald Green is gone, as is Shane Larkin.  We need a dependable scorer off the bench and, now, that's Gordon Hayward.  Also, he's a pretty good floor general.  He keeps his head up on drives.  Neither Rozier nor Morris do that.  Jaylen Brown has become a good scorer off the bench too, I'm neither forgetting nor under-appreciating him but he isn't a good passer.  He's the guy you want to have the ball in his hands to finish.  Gordon is the guy you want the ball in his hands to begin and, if they don't respect him, finish.  There is now, finally, reason to believe that next year Gordon Hayward will start to look more like the player we signed. Not his 30 points vs Minny, his steady dependable contributions over a multi-week period. He is leaving comparisons to Jeff Green behind, and that's a very good thing.

Al Horford with his 2nd career triple double.  A monster game by Big Al.  LOVED his 4 offensive rebounds.  I love it when anybody gets offensive rebounds, but still...

Bottom line, we had a good first quarter, they had a shitty one.  They outplayed us the remaining 3 quarters.  This was a win we needed because Indy beat Detroit, but it wasn't fun.

One thing I've got to say, because I don't get to say it very open, but I didn't have a problem with the officiating.  Mistakes?  Sure, some, but nobody's perfect.  What I didn't see were blatantly egregious calls EXCEPT, to be fair, a blocking foul that was called on Kelly Olynyk when it really was a charging foul on Kyrie.  We got a break there, and it was a big one at a critical point in the game.  It's at about the 11:00 mark of the highlight film below, if you want to see it.  Other than that, though, nobody heard me screaming at the refs last night, which is all I ask for.

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071826




bob


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Great post Bob.

dboss wrote:This is a different team with Baynes starting.

It took Brad all season to figure out that they needed his size and strength.

Or maybe it was the 30 games he was hurt

mrkleen09 wrote:

dboss wrote:This is a different team with Baynes starting.

It took Brad all season to figure out that they needed his size and strength.

Or maybe it was the 30 games he was hurt

Fair enough, injuries kept him out of the rotation but I am less certain that he would have been starting even if he was not injured. Aron despite his nagging injuries has played 48 games this year but has only started in 15.

I think coach Stevens has fiddled around with wing dominated lineups all year. All year long the Celtics have been losing the rebounding battle and in general they have played too soft in the paint.

I do not think Stevens will start him every game. Matchups still matter and Brad likes the versatility of small ball lineups.

In any event Aron Baynes is by no means a great player but he fills a specific need on this team. His physical presence makes a big difference.

Btw, forgot to mention that Kelly Olynyk started in front of Hassan Whiteside.

That was for you, Cowens. LOL.


bob


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dboss wrote:  

Fair enough, injuries kept him out of the rotation but I am less certain that he  would have been starting even if he was not injured.  Aron despite his nagging injuries has played 48 games this year but has only started in 15.

I think coach Stevens has fiddled around with wing dominated lineups all year.  All year long the Celtics have been losing the rebounding battle and in general they have played too soft in the paint.    

I do not think Stevens will start him every game.  Matchups still matter and Brad likes the versatility of small ball lineups.

In any event Aron Baynes is by no means a great player but he fills a specific need on this team.  His physical presence makes a big difference.  

This is EXACTLY the crux of our disagreements out here- you are once again, trying to play all side of the fence.

In December, you didnt think much of Baynes and it caused a lot of back and forth between us.

dboss wrote:Brad has been working hard to get this team to play well together.  It is not surprising that Williams has made only cameo appearances up until last night.  Last night he was forced to go with Williams and now that we have seen him play extended minutes it is clear that he is in fact ready to contribute right now.

He is going to take someone's minutes.  I think he will end up taking minutes from Baynes.  

I like Baynes but he is very limited as a defender and rebounder.  I think Williams will make our defensive much better.  I do not think they will miss Baynes' 5.5 PPG on offense.  

Now in April, you have the gall to ask Stevens in essence what took him so long to start Baynes?  

dboss wrote:This is a different team with Baynes starting.

It took Brad all season to figure out that they needed his size and strength.

Kleen

I was wrong about Baynes.  I under-appreciated his value.  

I still think Williams should get minutes but Baynes definitely makes a big difference for this team.  Williams has not been developed.  My comments several months back were based on what I saw as his potential.  

Baynes can help this team today and the Celtics have missed what he brings to the table. Williams gets cameo appearances and has not played enough to help this team.  Do I think down the road that Williams will surpass Baynes?  Yes I do but not today.  Not this year.  

I strongly believe that Baynes levels the playing field at center for the Celtics and provides the type of strength, girth and intelligence to help this team compete.   My biggest concern going into the post season is the Celtics ability to play with a high level of intensity and physicality in the paint.  Baynes fills that need.

dboss wrote:Kleen

I was wrong about Baynes.  I under-appreciated his value.  

I still think Williams should get minutes but Baynes definitely makes a big difference for this team.  Williams has not been developed.  My comments several months back were based on what I saw as his potential.  

Baynes can help this team today and the Celtics have missed what he brings to the table. Williams gets cameo appearances and has not played enough to help this team.  Do I think down the road that Williams will surpass Baynes?  Yes I do but not today.  Not this year.  

I strongly believe that Baynes levels the playing field at center for the Celtics and provides the type of strength, girth and intelligence to help this team compete.   My biggest concern going into the post season is the Celtics ability to play with a high level of intensity and physicality in the paint.  Bayens fills that need.

                                                                                       wow, somebody admitting they were wrong on here, or most fan sites, is extremely rare. I'm wrong more often than I am right. Kudos, dboss

I’m never wrong right...???

Tom Westerholm
Tom Westerholm @Tom_NBA
about 3 hours ago
Per the NBA’s L2M report, Kelly Olynyk did indeed commit a blocking foul on the Kyrie Irving and-one last night.

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bob


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