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Powered by a franchise playoff record 23 3-pointers, the Miami Heat tied their first-round Easter Conference series with the Boston Celtics Wednesday night with a 111-101 victory.
Following a tight first half, the Heat used the 3rd quarter where they outscored the Celtics 27-18 to retake the lead — a lead they would not surrender to even the series at 1-1.
Game 3 is Saturday night at 6 p.m. ET in Miami.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said on Wednesday that they would make a concerted effort to lower the Celtics’ 3-point attempts and increase theirs for Game 2. The approached worked in Miami’s favor.
The Celtics used 3-pointers to their advantage in Game 1, going 22-for-49 from distance. But Game 2 was a different story as they went 12-for-32. Miami, meanwhile, shot away, going 23-for-43 from behind 3-point line.
Miami’s 23 3-pointers were two shy of the NBA playoff record and broke their previous franchise mark of 20, which was set during the 2021 playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Tyler Herro shot 6-for-11 from distance, while Caleb Martin chipped in five 3-pointers in six attempts.
Herro, who was held to 11 points in 34 minutes on Sunday, found better success in Game 2 by dropping 24 points. He was backed up by 21 points each from Martin and Bam Adebayo. Nikola Jovic was impactful at both ends of the court with 11 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
Herro also led all players with 14 assists on the night.
Jaylen Brown (33 points, 8 rebounds) and Jayson Tatum (28 points, 8 rebounds) did what they could, but Miami‘s offense was much more balanced. The Celtics’ bench could not influence the game enough as they were outscored by the Heat’s subs 20-12.
Already without Jimmy Butler (MCL) and Terry Rozier (neck), the Heat heads home with the series knotted at one and coming off a game where their shooting fortunes turned around.