Heat Survive Celtics Without Butler

The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics faced off Tuesday night in the newly-named Miami-Dade Arena. The Heat (27-22) served the Celtics (35-14) their second straight loss, taking them down 98-95.

Key Injuries For the Visitors

The Celtics were without three of their five starters: Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Al Horford.

Each of these key players were listed on the team’s injury report for the game. Brown was ruled out for adductor injury management, Smart for his sprained ankle and Horford for lower back stiffness.

Malcolm Brogdon also sat for personal reasons.

An Early Back-and-Forth

The greatest point differential between the two teams in the first quarter was four. Miami’s Max Strus came out striking with a 13-point quarter to keep it close.

Celtics star Jayson Tatum, however, was able to match Strus’ quarter with 13 points of his own.

The Heat led 32-30 at the end of the first.

https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1618255117039374339

Celtics Gain Momentum

Boston put up 28 points to Miami’s 18 in the second quarter to give them a 58-50 lead at the half.  Six of the Celtics’ final eight points before intermission came from Tatum, who finished the half with 21.

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1618059849329438725

Heat Pull Through Late

After a close third quarter (Heat 25, Celtics 24), Miami was down seven going into the final 12 minutes.

In the final seconds, with the Heat up 97-95, Tyler Herro forced a Tatum turnover, which would be the game’s deciding factor.

The Heat outscored Boston 23-13 in the fourth on their way to securing the 98-95 win despite Tatum’s 31 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists.

https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1618079335503593473

Key Performances for the Heat

Bam Adebayo had 30 points and 15 rebounds on the night, going 12-22 from the field and 6-8 from the charity stripe.

Haywood Highsmith and Victor Oladipo combined for 27 points off the bench. Highsmith put up 15 points and 10 rebounds on 4/4 from three, while Oladipo contributed 12 points and 6 rebounds himself.

https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1618093246818783232

Up Next

The Heat will seek their third consecutive win Friday night when they host the Magic at 8.

The Celtics will look to bounce back from their two game losing streak Thursday evening against the Knicks at 7:30.