ECF Celtics v Heat | Game 1 Recap

Miami 123 @ Boston 116 | MIA Leads Series 1-0

Boston started fast taking a nine-point lead into halftime. Then Jimmy Butler reminded us of the

dog he holds inside leading all scorers with 35 in a 123-116 Miami win in a NBA Eastern

Conference Finals game one road victory.

The Boston Celtics started out game one looking every bit the 2-seed as they built a solid nine- point lead by the time the halftime buzzer sounded. Jayson Tatum lead all scorers at the half with 26, but ended the game with only 30, and zero in the fourth. Then Jimmy Butler and company turned up the heat in the second half. Jimmy entered the half with only 12 points but unlike Tatum got stronger as the game went ending it with a slash of 35 pts/7 asts/5 rebs/6 stls(playoff career high) with only three turnovers.

Miami's supporting cast also played vital roles in the come-from-behind victory. Caleb Martin and Kyle Lowry contributed 15 points and 3 assists a piece off the bench while Gabe Vincent and Max Struss provided much-needed defense and chipped in 30 points combined as well. Bam Adebayo had a quiet decent night scoring-wise with 20 points, but he corralled a team-high 8 rebounds and dished out 5 assists.

On the other side, Boston's offense sputtered in the second half. They only managed to score 50 points in the final two quarters, and their stars faded away when it mattered most. The Boston Celtics had a rough night shooting just 35.7% from the field, and Marcus Smart had an uncharacteristically quiet night with only 13 points. Jaylen Brown pulled his weight with 22 pts/9 rebs/5 asts but also had 6 turnovers.

Miami's game one victory sets the tone for what should be a hotly contested series. Boston will need their stars to show up and their role players to step up if they hope to take game two and even the series before they head to Miami for games three and four. Boston needs to refine their regular season home dominance where they held a 32-9 record. In contrast, Miami will look to continue their momentum and extend their series lead. They will need to maintain their defensive intensity and continue getting contributions from their entire roster. The Heat will also hope to get more out of Kevin Love, who was quiet in game one with only 8 points but will want to keep his 6 rebounds, all on defense.

Jimmy Butler was asked post-game what him not needing to drop a 50 burger for the Heat to win meant for where his team was at, he stated "It just shows the group of guys that we have. So many guys step up in so many different ways night in and night out. We've been doing it all year, everybody's poised, everybody's confident, everybody's comfortable, playing some good basketball"

That will be key for the Heat going forward if they want to keep the edge in this series as Boston will not roll over after a single home loss. The Trio of Smart, Tatum, and Brown will bounce back in game two and moving forward. The keys will be who wins the turnover battle and plays a stingier team defense. The Heat were the more physical team in game one despite going down by double digits early they simply ground the Celtics into submission by constant pressure which mforced 15 Boston turnovers to their 12. Boston will need to ratchet up the physicality with a banged-up core as Brown and Smart hit the floor hard in game one as nobody left anything on the court while bodies flew all over the hardwood on any loose ball or rebound attempt. Overall, game one was a tale of two halves. Boston controlled the first half, but Miami dominated the second. The Eastern Conference Finals are shaping up to be a closely contested battle, with each team possessing unique strengths and weaknesses. It remains to be seen which team will come out on top, but one thing is certain – it will be a thrilling series for NBA fans to watch.