The Miami HEAT fell to the Boston Celtics 98-88 Wednesday night at TD Garden. Joe Johnson and Hassan Whiteside each had 19 points apiece for the HEAT.
1. Quick Start for Dragic
In the first half, Goran Dragic did it all for Miami. Whether it was aggressive drives in the half court or smooth mid-range jumpers off screens, the point guard usually converted. He also continued to do a nice job on the offensive glass, which is something he’s done a little more of recently.
After the HEAT had a tough third quarter overall, Dragic tried to turn things around in the fourth. The 29-year-old kept at it with a few tough takes to the rack during that span. Dwyane Wade also had a few finishes inside and scored eight points in the fourth quarter on 3-of-6 shooting.
Dragic finished the game with 18 points, three assists and two rebounds, while Wade ended up with 17 points, five assists and three boards.
2. Whiteside Keeps It Up At the Free-Throw Line
Like Wade and Dragic, Whiteside also made his presence felt in crunch time. Early in the period, the big man bullied his way inside for a strong finish over Kelly Olynyk. Otherwise, Whiteside continued to make Boston pay for fouling him inside. In all, he shot 7-of-9 from the charity stripe.
Earlier, the 26-year-old also benefited from some great entry passes by Wade. Thanks to that, Whiteside was able to get into a nice little rhythm in the first quarter.
On the flip side of the ball, the center tallied four blocks, with perhaps his best one coming in the fourth against Marcus Smart after coming out to defend the guard on the perimeter.
In addition to those four blocks and his 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting, Whiteside also tallied nine rebounds.
3. Solid Defense Early On
In the first half, Miami executed very well on the defensive end and got out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter. In fact, the HEAT limited the Celtics to just 33.3 percent shooting in the first half and gave them absolutely no breathing room. Of course, Luol Deng and Justise Winslow shined the most on that end of the floor.
In particular, Winslow had an excellent stretch in the second quarter. He fought hard on the offensive glass and hit a tough corner three, but again it was all about the defense.
With 9:25 left in the second quarter, Winslow swiped the errant pass from Marcus Smart and threw the lead pass for Dragic down court. The Slovenian corralled the pass and finished the play in transition despite Evan Turner coming to contest.
Winslow finished the night with seven points and a team-high ten rebounds.
Other Takeaways:
-Despite the loss, the HEAT remained in the third seed since the Hawks lost to the Wizards on Wednesday night. As a result, Miami will host Charlotte in the first round.
Game Note: Chris Bosh and Tyler Johnson (shoulder) sat out.