By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Miami Heat overcame a slow start and picked their pace up in the second half to draw first blood against the Boston Celtics, 118-107, in Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs finals.
It was as if the Celtics were still on their home floor and shocked the Heat with their hot three-point shooting early in the first half led by their superstar Jason Tatum.
Tatum shot the lights out in the first 24 minutes of contest, scoring 21 first-half points that helped Boston take a 62-54 lead heading into the next two quarters.
Robert Williams, who didn’t play that much during their series against the Milwaukee Bucks due to a knee injury, also decimated Miami on the boards and was all over the place picking up offensive rebounds and converting easy deuces off drop-off passes from their fluid motion offense.
However, soon as the third quarter kicked off, the Miami squad’s suffocating defense immediately turned things around and quickly erased Boston’s double-digit lead.
Miami’s patient perimeter defense and excellent baseline help caused tons of problems for Boston, limiting them to only two points in the first six minutes of the third canto.
Their excellent defensive communication and on-point player switching led them to a total of 12 blocks and 10 steals, the most combined stats this 2022 post-season.
The undrafted Gabe Vincent once again played huge after replacing the injured Kyle Lowry and sparked the Miami defense with a couple of strips underneath which led to fast breakpoints for the Heat.
Aside from Vincent stepping up, Jimmy “Buckets” Butler also continued his stellar playoff performance after embracing his role as their main two-way player.
Butler finished the game with 41 points, nine rebounds, five assists, four steals, and three blocks and was a key factor during Miami’s 39-14 run in the third including several weak side steals that led to his easy coast-to-coast dunks.
Another factor that helped Miami take a double-digit lead heading into the fourth was PJ Tucker’s activity. The 37-year-old NBA champion fought for loose balls which led to extra possessions for his team and did a tremendous job being physical with the younger Tatum.
Boston tried to claw their way back in the fourth quarter after getting Miami into the penalty with nine minutes left which helped them trim the lead to just nine.
Jaylen Brown had a late explosion in the last seven minutes of the game but wasn’t enough to lift the Celtics for a comeback as Tyler Herro, Butler, and Max Struss answered back with their own field goals.
The Celtics had to go to battle in Game 1 without the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart due to foot soreness while veteran big man Al Horford was also out after the league placed him under their health and safety protocols.
Miami is still undefeated on their home floor this 2022 NBA playoffs and is looking to extend their impressive streak when they battle again for Game 2 on Friday, 8:30 AM (Philippine time).
