Everything you need to know about the Heat beating the Celtics 115-99 in BSJ Quickie Form
Box Score
HEADLINES
Another road meltdown: The Celtics have righted the ship on the homefront (six straight wins at TD Garden) but they found themselves sliding back into some ugly habits on the second half of a tough back-to-back on Thursday night, as an ugly second quarter (33-19 Heat advantage) paved the way to a blowout win for Miami. Seven different Heat players scored in double figures but no one made a bigger impact in the second half than Dwyane Wade (team-high 19 points off the bench) who hit several crucial jumpers in the fourth quarter to help put Boston away. Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 22 points for the visitors who shot an ugly 40 percent from the field on an ugly night for the offense outside of the first six minutes of the game (6-of-7 shooting). The C’s had their four-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 2-5 on the year in the second half of back-to-back games.
Bench disappearing act: After putting on a show against the Pacers on Wednesday night, Boston’s second unit was missing in action for most of Thursday’s defeat. Eight different players off the bench combined to score just 23 points against Miami and the lackluster play was largely a result of poor ball movement and shot selection. Jaylen Brown (two points) and Terry Rozier (four points) both had forgettable nights which helped the Celtics fall behind by as many as 26 points in the second half. The starters and Robert Williams managed to cut the deficit down to eight after a 21-3 run but the reserves gave most if it back in the fourth quarter to cap off a disappointing night.
Bench scuffle: Full breakdown in my column here.
TURNING POINT
Miami closed out the first half on a 21-6 run, capped by a 3-point buzzer beater by Derrick Jones Jr. The Celtics trailed by just by three or five points for much of the frame, but hot shooting from Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson and company broke the game wide open heading into halftime and the Celtics were never able to make up that type of ground.
TWO UP
Marcus Smart: The point guard breathed life into the Celtics offense in the second half, scoring all 18 of his points after intermission, including four makes from beyond the arc. He boosted his season average to a career-best 35 percent from downtown after the performance on an efficient 5-of-10 FG shooting night (4-of-8 from 3).
Robert Williams: The rookie was thrown into the fire with the Celtics needing a spark while facing a 26-point deficit in the third quarter. He didn’t do anything flashy in the box score (2 points, 4 rebounds) but his defense was a key catalyst as the visitors made things competitive in the second half with a 16-0 run that coincided with his insertion into the game. In addition to solid defense in the pick-and-roll, he made a nice dish on a fast break to setup Irving for a layup.
TWO DOWN
Al Horford: This was Horford’s first back-to-back since returning from his knee injury and the Celtics probably would have been better off with him taking the night off. The veteran scored just two points (1-of-8 FG) in 23 minutes and was a team-worst minus-26. He couldn’t buy a bucket from downtown, looked sluggish on the defensive end, and had a pair of costly turnovers in the fourth quarter that ended any chance of a Celtics comeback.
Terry Rozier: Shot selection remains an issue for the fourth-year guard and that was on complete display on Thursday night. He went 1-of-8 from the field with a number of stepback jumpers and ill-advised isolations. The Celtics managed just 20 assists on the night and his ball stopping was a big reason why.
TOP PLAY
MARCUS ?♂️ SMART. pic.twitter.com/ogvR8dePU3
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 11, 2019
