Heat Start Hot with Game 1 Win Over Boston

Picking up right where they left off, the Miami Heat were victorious in game one following a 118-107 win over the Boston Celtics. Led by Jimmy Butler’s outstanding 41 point performance, Miami looked in sync with one another in the victory and took advantage of Boston’s injured lineup.

Recap

The Celtics were without Marcus Smart (right mid-foot sprain) and Al Horford (Health & Safety Protocols) and it seemed to cost them big time. Jayson Tatum carried the scoring load with 29 points. He also had eight rebounds and six assists to add to his stat line. Jaylen Brown put up a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds while also pitching in three assists. Robert Williams returned to the floor and produced big on the offensive end with 18 points and nine rebounds. And Payton Pritchard had a respectable game as well with 18 points.

Williams had the task of locking down Heat big man Bam Adebayo and he did a good job limiting him to just 10 points and four rebounds. He will be seeing much more of Adebayo this series especially with the uncertainty behind Horford’s return. However, it was the guard game that took over for Miami and South Beach’s “hero” did it again. Tyler Herro ended the night with 18 points and eight rebounds as he is coming alive as a matchup nightmare here late into the playoffs. Gabe Vincent also had an impressive night for the Heat as he finished with 17 points on 50 percent from the field.

Butler was the shining moment of the game, however. The playoff nightmare struck again with 41 points, nine rebounds, five assists, four steals, and three blocks. He also shot 18 free throws which shows that the Heat can get the Celtics into foul trouble. Miami also makes them as they made 88 percent of their free throw shots.

“Jimmy Butler is an elite competitor,” Erik Spoelstra said. “There’s a lot of guys in this league that are playing basketball. He’s competing to win. That’s a totally different thing, and he does that as well as anybody in this league.”

It has been reported that Smart is probable for game two for the Celtics. It was also reported that Horford is doubtful for the next game in the series. It is a big deal that these two are injured because without arguably their two best defenders, the Celtics gave up a ton of points and odds say that head coach Ime Udoka would like to have Smart shut down Butler if he can come back to do so.

Game two in the series is Thursday, May 19, at 8:30 p.m. at FTX Arena.