The Miami Heat overcame a very slow start after missing their first seven shots from the field and came from behind with a spectacular third quarter to defeat the Boston Celtics 118-107 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday night at FTX Arena.
Jimmy Butler’s spectacular third quarter
Jimmy Butler led Miami to victory and maintained his team’s undefeated home record so far this postseason, in fact, his offensive rebound with 9:02 minutes to play in the third period gave the Heat their first lead (64-63) after a first half in which the Celtics dominated and went to the locker room with a 62-54 partial advantage.
In total “Jimmy Buckets” was the leader of the game with 41 points, 17 of them were scored in the penultimate period, in that period, Miami took a difference of 25 points (19-14), in addition to the fact that the first field shot made by Boston in this partial took place until 4:53 minutes left to play, after missing the first seven attempts.
Jayson Tatum went ice cold in the second half
The Celtics were pulling off the upset in a first half that was wonderful for star Jayson Tatum, who scored 21 of the 28 points he registered in the first 24 minutes, however, he cooled off in the second half.
Another factor that affected the 17-time NBA champions was the absence of both Marcus Smart due to injury and Dominican Al Horford, who entered the league’s health protocol related to COVID-19 and his availability for the foreseeable future is unknown.
What’s next in this series?
For now, Boston will try to tie the series and be the first team to steal a game from Miami in South Florida this Thursday, May 19 when Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals takes place at FTX Arena at 8:30 pm ET.
Marca
