The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics remain each other's nemesis as the two were locked in yet another tight contest on Friday night. Despite Jaylen Brown's best efforts, the Heat still came out on top in overtime, 120-116.
The Heat almost won in regulation after Jimmy Butler, fresh off a return from injury, sank a dagger midrange pull-up over Al Horford to put Miami up by three, 110-107, with 5.6 seconds to go. Boston didn't give up without a fight, however. In the dying seconds of the game, Jaylen Brown banked in an improbable leaning three-pointer from beyond the hash line to send the game to an extra period. However, Butler proved to be too cold in the clutch as he made yet another midrange dagger, this time sealing the game for good.
After the game, Brown rued the Celtics' missed chances and vowed to do better, particularly in setting the table for his other teammates. On the night, the 26-year old wing finished with five assists and five turnovers, a less-than-ideal ratio.
“I’ve gotta do more to get other guys going. … I could have passed up a couple of shots tonight to get more guys some buckets,” Brown said, per Jay King.
To that point, Grant Williams added that the Celtics must learn how to take care of the ball on a much better level if they were to clean up their late-game mistakes.
“Tonight, we just didn’t take care of the ball,” Williams said.
The Celtics and Heat have faced off thrice now this season, with Boston coming out on top during the first two meetings. Their latest matchup was on Wednesday night, when Jayson Tatum led Boston to victory with a 49-point MVP-esque performance. This time, however, Tatum finished with only 14 points on 5-18 shooting, a far cry from the performances he's been putting up in recent weeks.
Nonetheless, the Celtics, specifically Marcus Smart, relish their battles with playoff rivals Heat, saying that there's just something in their matchups that bring out the best in each other.
“We love playing Miami. They challenge us and make us be the best we can be,” Smart added.
The Heat and Celtics have faced each other in two of the past three Eastern Conference Finals, with Miami taking the series in 2020, and Boston avenging their loss two years later. With Jimmy Butler leading the way, the Heat appear to be on their way up in the Eastern Conference standings, and another playoff matchup between these two teams could be on the docket.
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