BSJ Game Report: Heat 120, Celtics 116 (OT) - Offense fails sloppy Celtics, 5 game streak snapped

Everything you need to know about the Celtics' overtime loss to the Miami Heat, with BSJ insight and analysis:

IN A NUTSHELL

This was a slog for both teams early on, with neither team hitting many shots in the first quarter. The shots started to fall in the second, but the turnovers also started to pile up. The Celtics found some separation in the third and fourth quarters, building a lead as high as 13, but the Heat kept hanging around thanks to Boston coughing the ball up so much. Jaylen Brown hit a ridiculous buzzer-beater to force overtime, but Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo closed the door in the extra session.

Box Score

HEADLINES

Turnover issues: The Miami Heat just bother the Celtics. Boston turned the ball over 20 times for 21 Miami points, which is the singular reason why the Celtics lost. If they kept that to anything close to their season average, this would have been another win. 

“They do a good job of clogging the lane, they’re really good with their hands,” Marcus Smart, owner of four of Boston’s turnovers, said. “We got a lot of aggressive guys and we just kept going a little too late on the passes, a few times we just lost the ball.”

Offense fails them: The Celtics offense has been on a historic run, but we can see how vital better execution and defense are in case the shooting takes a night off. Boston shot 15-45 from deep, just 33.3%, so this was a rare “die by the 3” night. 

Rare Tatum stinker: Tatum is on top of the NBA’s MVP ladder for a reason, but after a 49-point explosion in the first game, this 14-point night was easily his worst game of the season. He alone was 0-7 from 3, and he took a few late in the game where it might have been better if he just accepted his fate and moved the ball. 

TURNING POINT

The Celtics seemed to be in control when Joe Mazzulla won a coach’s challenge to keep a Sam Hauser layup on the board and maintain an early 8-point lead, but the Heat stormed out of that timeout and went on a 13-0 run to take a 96-91 lead. Yes, the Celtics ultimately tied the game and went to overtime, but the Celtics went from building a lead to scrapping to force a miracle in a blink. They had three turnovers, two of which led to buckets, in that 2:15 stretch.

THREE UP 

Jaylen Brown: He was due for a big night and he came through with 37 points, on 52% shooting, 45.5% from 3, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists. He also hit the game-tying 3-pointer, a 40-foot prayer at the end of regulation. 

The Heat forced Brown much further out than he wanted to catch it, and Brown rose up quickly because it was a situation where, up 3 with a foul to give, they could have stopped the clock and made Boston run another play. Brown could have drawn a foul, maybe even a four-point play. 

“We defended it pretty well all the way through,” Erik Spoelstra said after the game. “I think that was the four-and-a-half count on that, and we talked about fouling but at that point Jimmy went for the steal and I thought he made the appropriate decision not to foul.”

The shot was not what Brown had planned, but it went in, and that's what matters. 

On the down side, he had 5 of Boston’s turnovers, and it was a throwback to the problems that plagued Boston in the past. 

“Miami does a good job of baiting us into what they want us to do and living with it,” Brown said after the game, noting that Miami uses their physicality and hands really well to force turnovers. 

Grant Williams: He broke out of his slump in a big way with a 6-8 shooting night, including 4-6 from deep. He hit some big shots. 

Marcus Smart: I thought Smart played pretty well, aside from one really bad shot with about 4:45 to go. Boston had forced a stop, they were down 1, and a bucket could have swung the momentum, but he rose up for a super quick 3-pointer. Other than that, Smart played well even if he wasn’t hitting from 3. He did a lot of damage in the paint and around the basket, and had 9 more assists. 

THREE DOWN 

Jayson Tatum: This wasn’t just an off night. He was way off. He also had 5 turnovers to go along with an oh-fer from 3. He forced a few shots that, had they gone in, we’d be saying “wow, what confidence to stick with that shot and hit them when they matter.” Instead, the feeling is “man, couldn't you have made an extra pass or something to try to find a better look?” Such is life as a star player. He got into foul trouble early and just never got into a rhythm.

Al Horford: Jimmy Butler picked on him a little in switches, knowing he could get to his spot and rise up for comfortable fadeaways against Horford. There's not much Horford could have done there, but it’s worth wondering whether another perimeter defender was a better idea instead of having Horford in there down the stretch. 

Malcolm Brogdon: Kind of the complete opposite of his other game against Miami. He could never get going and was a -20. 

TOP PLAYS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- STICK. TO. THE. PLAN!

At the risk of being a slave to makes and misses, I have a problem with how the Celtics executed down the stretch. 

I’ll repeat myself, though … if Tatum makes some of those shots he took, we’re celebrating an MVP candidate. There's no doubt about it. This is what makes star players. They do things regular players don’t, or even sometimes shouldn’t, because they are capable of things other players aren’t.

I acknowledge this fully as I write this. However, one of the strengths of this team is how they move the ball to create great shots. Too often down the stretch, they simply went one-on-one. 

“We had some good attacks and some that maybe we could have drove it again or got to the paint and made an extra pass,” Brown admitted. “We got a lot of good matchups but we could’ve made some better rim reads at times. We could have attacked when we shot it, we could have shot it and we attacked. It was just a slow game for us offensively, which happens. When you recognize that, you got to find ways to get each other going.”

That sums it up perfectly.

Credit Miami for throwing the Celtics off. They're a better team than their record would indicate, and they were certainly primed for this game. 

But the plan has worked. Ball movement, player movement, good spacing and trusting each other has led to a historically great offense so far. A little better recognition of “I don’t have it tonight” from Tatum especially could have helped win this game. 

I would have gladly written the story about how Tatum was an MVP candidate on an off night if he moved the ball more, set more screens, and occupied the defense with sacrificial cuts. He didn’t do that nearly enough. 

Stick to the plan. The plan works. The other stuff doesn’t work nearly as well. 

Next Up: The Celtics begin a six-game road trip on Sunday night with a 6:00 game in Brooklyn.