The Miami Heat squandered a great opportunity to close out the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday night. The Heat had home-court advantage and they had an excellent chance to sweep Jayson Tatum and Co. to punch their ticket in the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets. It just wasn't to be, though, with the Celtics securing a season-saving 116-99 blowout win in Miami.
After the game, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra refused to accept the notion that Miami had a “letdown” in Game 4. According to the two-time NBA champion coach, it was just a matter of the Celtics outplaying them on the evening:
“Sometimes things don’t go exactly as planned,” Spoelstra said. “A lot of what we did this year has been the hard way, and we've been able to find ways to win even if the team plays well or not.
“[The Celtics] got us tonight. You gotta give them credit for that. There's no doubt about it. There's no questioning it. … They deserved to win tonight. We have to regroup and get ready for a great opportunity in Boston (in Game 5).”
Erik Spoelstra says he didn’t sense a “let down” tonight.
“Sometimes things don’t go exactly as planned. A lot of what we did this year has been the hard way.” pic.twitter.com/N7Y3i5VnOt
— Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg) May 24, 2023
The good news for Heat fans is that they are still in an excellent position to win this series. It's going to be a little bit harder, though, with the East Finals now shifting back to Boston for Game 5. You can be sure that Miami will do everything it can to end this series in Boston so as not to potentially give the Celtics a way back after being down 0-3 in the series.
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