Miami extinguishes Boston’s winning streak, Celtics lose 124-103 vs. Heat

Coming off an undefeated 6-0 west coast road trip the Celtics returned home to face off against the Miami Heat who are in the midst of a five game winning streak. With two hot teams, it was Miami that snapped Boston’s winning streak as the Celtics lost 124-103.

Jaylen Brown led the way for the Celtics with 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists on 10-20 shooting but it wasn’t enough to stop the Heat as Tyler Herro led the Heat with 25 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds on 7-18 shooting. Herro wasn’t the only Miami player to go off as they had seven players finish with double digit points as Boston couldn’t slow them down with Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Kristaps Porzingis out.

This is the sixth time this season the Celtics have lost their first home game coming back from a road trip as the intensity level was lacking. Boston did a great job of rebounding the ball and getting second chance points but just couldn’t find their three ball as they shot 28% from three as a team.

The Celtics scoring started with one of the best two man pick and roll duos in the NBA as Jayson Tatum found Luke Kornet for an easy layup. Kornet continued to score for the Celtics as Boston scored their first 10 points in the paint while Tyler Herro was the main catalyst for the Heat’s offense as both teams traded baskets.

Boston’s three point shooting started really slow however and Miami went on a 9-2 run to open up a small lead as the Celtics trailed 29-22 after the first quarter. The Celtics shot 2-12 from three in the quarter and it really slowed their offense down. Kornet led Boston with 10 points and 3 rebounds while Herro led Miami with 8 points. The Celtics did have 11 second chance points which was a byproduct of their tenacious efforts on the offensive glass.

The Celtics offense continued to be ice cold to start the second quarter with Tatum on the bench as the Heat opened up a double digit lead. Frustration started to boil over on the Celtics sideline as after a missed foul call on Luke Kornet and an 8-2 run by Miami, Joe Mazzulla received a technical foul for arguing with the ref.

That seemed to light a little bit of a spark for the team as Derrick White made a couple of fantastic plays in a row. After hitting a fadeaway jumper, White blocked Bam Adebayo on a 2 on 1 fast break and found Payton Pritchard for a corner three after some elite ball movement.

After a Miami timeout the Celtics started to hit a couple shots but couldn’t cut into the Heat’s double digit lead. Luke Kornet received his third foul of the game early in the quarter and the Celtics decided to run a small ball lineup that the Heat were just picking apart.

Boston went on a 15-6 run to cut the Heat’s lead to 9 points towards the end of the quarter but a Haywood Highsmith buzzer beater three gave Miami a 59-45 lead going into halftime. The Celtics shooting woes continued as they finished the half shooting 37% from the field and 17% from three. Jayson Tatum especially struggled as he only scored 8 points on 1-8 shooting.

The third quarter started with much of the same in both sides as the Heat started the quarter on a 14-7 run and opened up a 20+ point lead as the Celtics continued to miss shots. Pele Larrsson started to dominate for Miami as he hit three shots in a row as the Celtics small lineup could not stop the Heat from getting whatever they wanted.

However, Jaylen Brown started to heat up as he scored 10 points as a part of a 20-6 run got the Celtics back in the game and cut Miami’s lead to single digits and forced the Heat to call a timeout.

The run continued as Tatum started to find his shot with a layup and found Baylor Scheierman for a no-dip corner three to make it a 3 point game with 4:28 left. Miami responded 5 straight points but Brown continued his hot quarter with an and-1 midrange jumper.

Davion Mitchell started to swing momentum for Miami as he not only scored to make it a double digit game again, he also forced Tatum into an offensive foul. Tatum was naturally upset with the bad call and called for another technical foul for clapping, his 14th tech this season.

After Kyle Anderson went on another small run for Miami, the Celtics trailed the Heat 91-81 going into the fourth quarter. Boston shot the ball a lot better in the third quarter, shooting 58% from the field and 54% from three. Brown finished the quarter with 13 points and 5 rebounds on 5-7 shooting as his contributions kept Boston in the game.

The fourth quarter began with Sam Hauser walking into a pull up three and Neemias Queta forcing an and-1 layup as Boston tried to mount a comeback. Kyle Anderson continued to torment Boston however as he scored 6 points to begin the quarter to match every Celtics basket.

Midway through the quarter the Celtics offense went cold once again at the worst time as another Davion Mitchell three put the Heat up 15 with five minutes left in the game. That was when the Celtics waived the white flag and put in the stay ready and ending their 9 game winning streak.

The Celtics next game is on Friday April 4th where they face off against the Phoenix Suns.