Final: Heat 104, Celtics 98

GAME: No. 19 of 82
WHO: Celtics (16-2) vs. Heat (7-9)
WHEN:  7:30 EST
WHERE:  American Airlines Arena
RADIO: 100.7 FM WZLX
TV: NBC Sports Boston
BOX SCORE: NBA.COM

Projected Starting Lineups:

Celtics
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Aron Baynes

Heat:

PG: Goran Dragic
SG: Dion Waiters
SF: Josh Richardson
PF: Justise Winslow
C: Hassan Whiteside

THIRD QUARTER THOUGHTS

• Brad Stevens didn't take very long to go small in this frame, benching Aron Baynes in favor of Marcus Smart just three minutes into the half.


• Smart has been vital in keeping Dragic (20 first half points) from taking over the game. He's been cutting hard and making strong drives but Smart has been pestering everything he does well, with some added help from Al Horford on the back line.


• Jayson Tatum continues to be a force whenever he's aggressive against Miami's smaller wing defenders.


• Irving not having a great quarter, missing a few makeable shots around the basket. He's engaged but has been bothered by physical Miami defense a few times.


• Shane Larkin getting minutes over Terry Rozier in the middle of the quarter after the young guard was completely out of control in the first half.


• While Dragic cooled off in the third, Dion Waiters picked up his point guard left off from a penetration standpoint. He broke down the C's defense on multiple occassions, helping clear out passing lanes for open 3s for his teammates from the perimeter. He also finished off tough shots himself (16 points after three on 7-of-15 shooting), which pushed Miami's lead back up to 16 after the frame.

• On a night when the starters are struggling to score, the bench unit picked up where they left off. Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier both hoisted up some very questionable shots from all over the floor. Rozier, in particular, was awful with wild jumpers, turnovers, and layups. The struggles helped the Heat build a 16-point lead early in the frame.


• Heat are getting pretty much whatever they want offensively on most possessions. Goran Dragic (13 early points) continues to wreak havoc in the paint


• Celtics really need Jayson Tatum to get more aggressive, particularly when he plays with the second unit, because there are no above-average shooters in that group outside of him.


• Heat got lead up to 18 midway through the frame, but C's may a little bit of headway late with the Smart/Irving/Brown/Tatum/Horford lineup. Tatum also had a pair of nice moves to get his offense going, including a terrific spin move in the post.


• Miami is not going to go away easy tonight though. Goran Dragic (20 points) has been a one-man wrecking crew and the Heat (41 percent from 3) are hitting their jumpers as well. With Horford missing, C's are going to have to have huge nights from Irving and Tatum to complete the comeback.

• The Celtics came out ice cold outside of Kyrie Irving. The starters shot a collective 2-of-12 to start the game, which helped the Heat build a nice early lead.


• Miami had an 11-0 run after falling into a 4-0, thanks to some early ball movement and intensity.


• Al Horford remains in a bit of a shooting funk over his last few games. He's shooting 0-of-5 from the field to start the game, but did a nice job defending Hassan Whiteside in the post.


• 32 percent shooting from the field in the first quarter for Boston


• Two early fouls for Aron Baynes per usual, but he also hit a jumper.


• Marcus Morris is playing and drilled a first quarter 3-pointer. He was schooled by Winslow on a postup though.


• Irving on one possession, didn't hustle back into the play after the C's lost grasp of a defensive rebound. It resulted in an open Heat 3 (which they missed). Stevens was understandably not pleased.

• Aron Baynes gets his first start in a couple weeks to go head-to-head against Heat big man Hassan Whiteside. The Heat did not have Whiteside in the team's first matchup earlier this season, a 96-90 Celtics win back on Oct. 26.


• Marcus Morris is a game-time decision according to the team, based on some lingering soreness in his left knee. Morris was planning on sitting out one half of the team's back-to-back against the Pacers and Magic this weekend, but he could be getting some additional rest on top of it. Unfortunately, this isn't shocking to me. Although Morris has played well, he definitely hasn't looked like he's moving at full speed all year long.


• Vegas wouldn't be surprised if this is the night that the C's 16-game winning streak comes to an end. Boston is favored by a measly 1.5 points on the road. Miami should be motivated coming out of a blowout home loss against the Pacers on Sunday.


• The Heat are one of the five worst offensive teams in the league thus far, largely based on subpar offensive rebounding, sloppy ballhandling and an inability to get to the free throw line. The C's defense will have a good chance to get back on track against them.