The Miami Heat got blown out at home (again) in Game 4 of their first-round series versus the Boston Celtics, but despite the lopsided nature of the contest, it did not end without controversy. With the Celtics up by 13 points with a little over five minutes left in regulation, Boston star forward Jayson Tatum tried to take a shot after a whistle. Heat center Bam Adebayo, however, did not mind the call and continued to challenge Tatum's shot. Tatum then landed on Adebayo's foot, hurting his ankle in the process.
Adebayo was slapped with a flagrant foul on the Heat star, who did not say much about the contact with Tatum following the 102-88 loss to Boston.
“I don’t even know. We just gone move on from that, you gonna get me fined,” Adebayo told reporters during the postgame press conference, via Zachary Weinberger of ClutchPoints.
Adebayo's job on defense got lighter when Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis left in the middle of Game 4 with an apparent lower-body injury, but the Heat still struggled to keep up with Boston. The former Kentucky Wildcats big man, however, made a big impact on the contest, as he finished with 25 points, 17 rebounds, and five assists while shooting 11/22 from the field with a 3-pointer in 42 minutes of action on the floor. As for Tatum, he scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to go with five dimes dished out in 37 minutes. He went just 5/14 from the field but Tatum got to the line a lot and sank all his eight attempts from the charity stripe.
If Porzingis misses Game 5 and Tatum gets slowed down by the ankle injury, that could change the completion of the series and inject hope into the flickering chances of the Heat to pull off a first-round miracle comeback versus the Celtics. Whatever the case would be for Porzingis and Tatum in Game 5, the Heat are going to need Adebayo to be at his 100 percent — or more. He has been the most consistent player for the Heat in the playoffs thus far and he's also their best defender, having averaged 22.5 points on 53.5 field goal percentage, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists through four games against Boston.
Heat on the brink of early exit from 2024 NBA Playoffs
The margin of error for the Heat in this series is down to zero. Another loss and it's an early vacation for Adebayo and company, and it is not about to get much easier for them since their next game will be in enemy territory again. Game 5 is set to take place on Wednesday in Beantown, though, it's worth noting that Miami's only win in this series to date happened at TD Garden in Game 2.
Perhaps playing another game there would spark the Heat. Back in Game 2, Miami had their guns on fire, as the Heat shot nearly 50 percent from the floor and drained 23 3-pointers on a spectacular 53.5 percent success rate from deep. Adebayo had 21 points in that contest, while three other Heat players scored at least 21 points, including Caleb Martin and Tyler Herro, who combined for 11 threes.
It's a tough ask for the Miami Heat to shoot that well again, but it's probably the only way that their banged-up, Jimmy Butler-less, roster can defy the odds and overcome Jayson Tatum and the high-powered Celtics.
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