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It's Game 2 of the first-round series matchup between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA playoffs. The Celtics are looking to protect homecourt advantage and take a 2-0 series lead heading into Games 3 and 4 at the Kaseya Center in South Florida.
Boston dominated Game 1 on both sides of the ball to get a 114-94 victory. Jayson Tatum dropped a triple-double of 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Derrick White added 20 points, three rebounds and four assists, while Kristaps Porzingis scored 18 points.
Meanwhile, Bam Adebayo had 24 points, six rebounds and three assists for a Heat team without an injured Jimmy Butler. Delon Wright contributed 17 points off the bench, while Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 16 points in his first playoff game.
Coach Erik Spoelstra is expected to make some adjustments to possibly tie the series in Game 2. Joe Mazzulla is also likely making his own adjustments to prevent a potentially disastrous result for the best team in the league.
Miami Heat Players Stats and Box Scores
It was a total team effort for the Miami Heat, with five players scoring in double figures in Game 2. Tyler Herro led the way with 24 points, five rebounds and 14 assists, going 6-for-11 from beyond the arc.
Bam Adebayo and Caleb Martin each had 21 points, while Nikola Jovic had 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals. Jaime Jaquez Jr. was solid with 14 points despite shooting poorly. Haywood Highsmith and Delon Wright also put in the effort off the bench.
Boston Celtics Players Stats and Box Scores
The Boston Celtics' two superstars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were the only players who showed up in Game 2. Tatum finished with 28 points and eight rebounds, while Brown had a game-high 33 points on a 13-for-23 shooting night.
Derrick White added 13 points and four assists, but Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and the rest of the squad didn't step up. The Celtics were just outplayed and outhustled by a scrappy Miami Heat team playing without Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier.
Miami Heat stun Boston Celtics to tie series
The Miami Heat have evened their first-round series matchup against the Boston Celtics after a masterful performance in Game 2. The Heat were on fire from beyond the arc, knocking down a franchise playoff record 23 3-point shots.
The game was close in the first three quarters, with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown keeping the Celtics in the contest. However, Tyler Herro and the rest of the Heat kept hitting clutch shots to get a 111-101 win.
Miami now has homecourt advantage with the next two games at the Kaseya Center. The Celtics will have to make more adjustments if they want to regain the series lead.
