Same opponent, same result.
With a playoff berth and the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Celtics hanging in the balance, the HEAT took care of business and defeated Boston 129-121 Tuesday night at TD Garden.
As such, Miami has now made the postseason 22 times in 33 seasons.
SHOP
Not too shabby, right?
Let’s get into how the HEAT did it this time.
1. Bam Strong Throughout
After hitting all five of his field goals on Sunday, Bam Adebayo picked up where he left off and connected on his first four shots in this one.
And it wasn’t all rim runs or finishes inside.
Quite the contrary, as Adebayo attacked mismatches and knocked down four jumpers in the first half.
This one came after his flurry of four straight made buckets:
And with Jimmy Butler unable to go after halftime, Adebayo continued to take it to the Celtics, convert shots in the paint and set up his guys with effective dribble handoffs.
Of course, the big fella also did his thing defensively in man against Tristan Thompson and on switches along the perimeter.
When it was all said and done, Adebayo amassed 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 shooting from the line, seven boards, five assists, a game-high two blocks (tied with Evan Fournier), one steal and a plus-eight rating.
2. Goran Breathes Fire Late
Through three quarters, Goran Dragić took just two shots.
However, one of those attempts resulted in his 12,000th point, and that seemed to ignite him heading into the fourth.
Either that or he heard “Dracarys” from someone because he proceeded to lead Miami with 14 points in the fourth to really put Boston in a hole.
I mean, take a look at how deep this trey was:
Whoa.
The Dragon finished with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-7 from distance, two assists, one rebound, one steal and a plus-nine rating.
3. Tyler Continues To Fill It Up
There’s just something about Tyler Herro when he faces the Celtics, eh?
Simply put, Herro got to wherever he wanted on the floor and continued to score in bunches thanks to middys, runners and treys.
And while he scored 13 points in the second quarter to keep Miami at Boston’s neck, his biggest impact came in the fourth where he scored nine points and answered nearly every Celtics run.
That’s Tyler for ya.
In all, Herro accumulated a team-high 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-7 from downtown, a game-high 11 rebounds, three assists, one steal and a plus-10 rating.
Other Takeaways:
-Before Dragić and Herro closed things out, Duncan Robinson dropped 13 points in the third to help the HEAT seize control of the game.
Naturally, he drilled threes, but he also made plays off the bounce…
…and played solid defense.
Robinson ended up with 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc, and 5-of-6 shooting from the charity stripe, three assists, two rebounds, one block and a game-high plus-11 rating.
-Butler set the tone with 11 points in the first quarter and stout defense on Jayson Tatum, but he suffered a poked eye in the second quarter and did not play in the second half.
He wound up with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 shooting from the line, three assists, two rebounds and a plus-nine rating in 17:21 of action.
Game Note:
-Victor Oladipo (right knee soreness) was inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT will head back to the 305 to host the Sixers in their regular-season home finale on Thursday at 7:30 PM. Tickets for that game at AmericanAirlines Arena can be found here.