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The Miami Heat-Boston Celtics playoff battle has gained traction over the years as an Eastern Conference classic series. As the Celtics (1st) and the Heat (8th) battle it out in the first round of the 2023-24 playoffs, some have called out what they see to be unethical play.
During Game 2 of the series in Boston, with the home team up 1-0 in the series, some Celtics players were seen shoving airborne Heat players, a maneuver which can cause serious injury.
Fans took to social media to highlight three such instances of Celtics players, including Jayson Tatum, shoving airborne Heat players.
However, the Miami Heat managed to grab the win in the game and tie the series at 1-1. Despite playing on the road and missing their star forward Jimmy Butler and starting point guard Terry Rozier, the Heat were able to defeat the Celtics 111-101.
Tyler Herro led the Heat's winning effort with 24 points, five rebounds, 14 assists, and one steal while Bam Adebayo and Caleb Martin added 21 points each. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 61 points to lead the Celtics' losing effort.
Celtics' Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown discuss unexpected loss to Heat
It is a rare occurrence in the league that the 8th seed defeats the 1st seed on the road with two of their key players missing while their opponents are completely healthy.
The Heat pulled off such a win, and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown discussed the loss during their post-game interviews:
"We knew it wasn’t going to be easy," Jayson Tatum said. "There’s a lot of history between these two franchises, especially recently. ... It’s never going to go exactly as people expect it to go, and that’s the beauty of it."
Jaylen Brown credited the Heat's coaching staff for putting together the winning game plan to take down the Celtics:
"I think they're well-coached," Brown said. "I think that's a credit to their coaching staff and organization. They put together a good game plan for them, and they feel confident and come out and execute, and tonight was an example of that.
"I just thought they made a lot of shots that we normally would feel comfortable with, but it's the playoffs. It is what it is, you gotta adjust, and we gotta play ball. So, we gotta respond."
The Celtics have been dealt similar losses in the past, as the 8th-seeded Heat beat them 4-3 in the Eastern Conference Finals last year.
However, the Celtics are still highly favored to win the series due to a lot of factors stacked up against the resilient and gritty Miami Heat. Boston will look to get back on the winning stride in Game 3 in Miami on Saturday.
