1. There aren’t many sounds in the world quite like that of a rowdy home playoff crowd immediately being silenced by the road team going on a dominant early run. What the HEAT did to start this game wasn’t quite what LeBron James did in Boston in Game 6 all those years ago, but it wasn’t too far off. In winning the opening period, 39-18, the HEAT had just about as immaculate a start to a postseason game as you can possibly have. With Kyle Lowry back, his effect on the pace of the offense, both in the open floor and in the halfcourt, was immediately evident as he pushed into a trail three for Max Strus and followed that up a few possessions later with his traditional hit-ahead pass to Jimmy Butler.
But apart from Lowry and some hot three-point shooting, the real boost to the offense was Bam Adebayo scoring about as well as he has ever scored. Adebayo started 5-of-6 from the field, 8-of-12 in the first half, and his aggression had Boston’s defense noticeably off balance. All told. Boston’s Defensive Rating of 131.9 was the second-worst they’ve surrendered since Christmas. It would be tough for the HEAT, or any team, to score much better than that. And in the end, that opening salvo offered a large enough lead to put Miami up 2-1 in the series.
The Celtics made their expected comeback, and then some. It just wasn’t quite enough. The HEAT ramped up the physicality on defense, found just enough shotmaking – Max Strus and Adebayo each hit a massive jumper after Boston closed to within one – and responded to one momentum-building one after another. A huge portion of the game was decided by the HEAT winning the turnover battle, 23-8, and taking 22 more shots than their opponent, but this was a battle of the mind more than anything. Everything this team has always said they were, they were Saturday night.
2. Having an All-Star point guard available to help set him up and alleviate some playmaking duties sure helps, and Erik Spoelstra was clearly calling his number from the get-go, but this wasn’t on anyone other than Adebayo. He wasn’t just rolling to the rim and catching lobs, he was going right at the chest of a great defender in Al Horford and getting deep into the paint.
Adebayo finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, four steals and a block, but it’s his 22 field-goal attempts that really stand out. Adebayo had never taken that many shots in an NBA game before. He’s received plenty of outside criticism over the years as he has constantly sought the balance between being aggressive and being the central cog the HEAT’s offense has often so desperately needed him to be. He found the balance tonight, showing up in the biggest moment of the season on the road with a hostile crowd on hand. Like his Game 6 against Boston a couple of years ago, these are the games you remember the most.
3. There are moments and then there are moments. As quiet as Miami had the crowd in that first quarter, the reverse was true in the third quarter. Boston was making a comeback, sure, but that comeback was interrupted by Marcus Smart seemingly injuring his right ankle falling to the ground on a rebound. Smart appeared to be in a lot of pain, and went back to the locker room not putting any weight on his ankle. Then, the return. First there was a loud murmur when the video board showed him running in the hallway, a roar when he walked to the scorer’s table to check himself back into the game and what Boston faithful would probably describe as a religious experience when he hit a three in the left corner to bring Boston within 10. Not a moment you see every day, that’s for sure. Though Jayson Tatum, having an awful shooting night that finished 3-of-14, almost repeated it a quarter later with an apparent shoulder injury.
Which all made Miami’s counter all the more impressive. With Butler out for the game with right knee inflammation, the HEAT buckled down with some physical defense – Victor Oladipo had some great one-on-one stops in Butler’s absence – and enough shots fell to push the lead back to 15 with an even 25-25 third quarter as all that rapturous energy was drained from the building. Great response to a great moment, one that the HEAT robbed the meaning from with the way they closed things out, and a sign of how things would play out in the fourth with the HEAT taking all the Celtics could offer and pushing right back.