Everything you need to know about the Heat’s 104-98 win over the Celtics in quickie form.
HEADLINES
Late rally falls short: The Celtics have been playing with fire throughout their 16-game winning streak, rallying from double-digit deficits on several occasions, and they almost did it again in South Beach. Boston nearly erased a 14-point deficit with a 13-0 run, but untimely turnovers, missed free throws, and some hot shooting from Dion Waiters (team-high 27 points) was too much for them to overcome in their first loss in more than a month.
Streak over: The 16-game winning streak comes to an end in Miami, but it will last for awhile in the franchise records. The run is tied for the fourth-longest winning streak in franchise history. Boston still holds a four-plus game lead for the top spot in the Eastern Conference after the defeat.
Bench shooting woes continue: The second unit shot a collective 9-of-28 from the field, continuing their theme of scoring struggles, particularly in the first half.
TURNING POINT
TWO UP
Kyrie Irving: It wasn’t 47 points, but the point guard scored when the C's needed him to do that down the stretch. He shot at or above 50 percent for the third-straight game, going 11-of-22 from the field for a team-high 23 points.
Jaylen Brown: He has been living in this category for the past week. Another efficient night, both from the field (6-of-10) and 3-point range (2-of-3). If anything, the Celtics could have used the 21-year-old wing a little bit more on a night when the rest of the team (outside of Irving) was struggling from the field since he only took ten shot attempts on the night.
TWO DOWN
Al Horford’s offense: The big man’s struggles carried over from Dallas, and he had no rhythm early on in this contest. The 31-year-old was just 1-of-7 from the field, missing a number of wide open looks which helped the C’s dig themselves an early hole. He finished with just seven points and has scored in single digits in three straight games now.
Terry Rozier: The third-year guard was completely out of the control in the first half, throwing up a number of ill-advised shots from the perimeter and in the paint. He was 1-of-5 in his limited minutes and earned a quick seat in the second quarter following his offensive woes. He played with better energy in the second half, but he’s still 6-of-29 from the field in his last five games.
INJURIES
Marcus Morris was questionable before tip with knee soreness but ended up playing his usual 21 minutes.
The Rook's got moves ? pic.twitter.com/qWoH7BrN9f
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 23, 2017
Marcus Morris coming off the bench is a fit I like: Another day, another first half in which the Celtics’ bench unit dug a big hole for themselves with such shoddy shooting. Smart and Rozier combined for 2-of-10 in the first half, but Morris stabilized this unit in the second half with his aggressiveness (eight free throws) attacking the bucket. The veteran had an off shooting night overall, but I like him playing with this group regularly since he’s not going to defer like Tatum can at times.
The Heat earned this one: The streak was going to end at some point, but the Heat really played a hell of a game to pull this one out. Boston’s offense was awful in the first half, but Miami got huge nights from their backcourt (Dragic and Waiters combined for 53 points) which carried them through some offensive ruts of their own. The C’s were bound to lose one, but they didn’t give this one away either.