Bam Adebayo had the last laugh against the Celtics’ B team

This remake of the last Eastern Conference Finals smelled like a playoff. Despite a series of big breaks – Jimmy Butler (back) for the Heat; Unlike Jaylen Brown (adductor), Al Horford (back), Marcus Smart (ankle) or even Malcolm Brogdon (personal reason) – this poster did not lack intensity (and awkwardness …), a very vague “money time ended with “. .

With two teams limiting each other to less than 100 points once. Few spectators could probably imagine losing it after the first quarter started on offense (32-30), with each team continuing to take the lead. The Celtics needed an 8-0 run just before halftime, carried by Jayson Tatum (50-58), for the Celtics to pull away.

In the next quarter, this gap increased to 14 units and was held by the Celtics, who controlled the situation until the end of these twelve minutes. Nine minutes into the game, Derrick White put Robert Williams III into orbit with an alley-oop to give his team a ten-point advantage (77-87) again.

That’s when the Heat responded with a 15-0 run. Before Jayson Tatum had a word, Boston blew away Grant Williams with a feint 3-pointer to tie the two teams (95-95) 42 seconds later. But Bam Adebayo immediately scored another “jumper” in the heart of the racket to seal the victory for Florida.

WHAT TO REMEMBER

– A hot stroke of heat. When Erik Spoelstra took a timeout after that alley-oop by Williams III, he had the good idea to restart Tyler Herron in place of Victor Oladipo, who had just lost the ball. Positioned as a leader, the natural back found Haywood Highsmith twice, one in the corner and then the other, to revive the Heat. Behind that wake, Bam Adebayo attacked the circle twice, including a fierce dunk in transition. Then Herro found it in the middle of the racquet and the back was eventually penalized with a 3-pointer. Miami just went on a 15-0 run over five minutes against the Celtics, who were running out of inspiration and pushed behind the 3-point line.

– Two everywhere, ball in the center. The Celtics have won their first two games against Miami this season. The Heat responded with the next two wins. In the next playoffs? With this win, the Floridians confirm their good streak at home anyway (five wins in a row) and just their good streak: six wins in their last eight trips. The Heat, who are 6th in their conference, still have a ways to go, but they could finally push themselves into the Top 4 if the power surges in the coming weeks.

TOPS/FLOPS

✅ Bam Adebayo. ” Campaigning is not my nature. I think he’s an All-Star and he showed it tonight. It was a big win, it was on TV. I hope people notice “I wish Erik Spoelstra would talk about his point. It was Jimmy Butler’s absence, Tyler Herron’s clumsiness and Kyle Lowry’s failure, carrying the Heat on their broad shoulders.

✅ Jason Tatum. Another big play for the top scorer – who does the most damage with his penetration – rebounds and passes on his team. The big downside is that its seven lost balloons (as much as Heat…) are expensive. Especially the latter, on a game-tying turnaround attempt against Grant Williams in the final seconds.

✅ Haywood Highsmith. Undoubtedly one of the best games of his young career. The author of the second double-double of the season, scored two award-winning baskets in the final quarter, which started a 15-0 run.

✅⛔ Tyler Herro. Stopping at the final shot rate (4/19) would have deserved a red card. But let’s not forget his importance in the Heat’s comeback in the final quarter. Kyle Lowry, off the bench during that stretch, played a vital role as a distributor, including his final pass to Adebayo when he was caught at the two. Awkward, he still returned the crucial winning shot and, above all, the key floater with a minute to go. Not to mention him taking over the phone pass on Tatum’s last possession.

⛔ Celtics bench. Aside from Luke Cornett’s few shots, his contribution was minimal (just 10 points), especially compared to the Heat’s bench. For example, Blake Griffin played four minutes after finding a way to the floor after a screen break… The result: without key players, Joe Mazzulla gave each of his players at least 31 minutes of play, including 42 minutes for Payton. Pritchard.

NEXT

Heat (27-22) : Magic reception on Friday.

Celtics (35-14) : Taking on the Knicks on Thursday.