National Basketball Association
Miami 111, Boston 101
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Officials: #62 JB DeRosa, #16 David Guthrie, #4 Sean Wright
Attendance: 19156

Tyler Herro sank six of Miami's franchise-playoff-record 23 3-pointers as the Heat evened their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with the Boston Celtics by earning a 111-101 road victory in Game 2 on Wednesday night.

Miami shot 23 of 43 from long distance, with Herro going 6 of 11 on 3-point tries en route to a team-high 24 points. Herro also had 14 assists.

"Everybody came to play," Herro said. "We lost bad in Game 1 and everybody responded. That's all you can ask for from a group of guys. ... We love to compete and that's what it's all about."

Eighth-seeded Miami led 102-91 after Bam Adebayo made a hook shot with 4:12 to play, and top-seeded Boston failed to get closer than six points after that. The Heat outscored the Celtics 53-40 in the second half.

Adebayo collected 21 points and 10 rebounds. Miami also received 21 points from Caleb Martin, who made 5 of 6 shots from 3-point range.

"We understood how many missed opportunities we had hesitating to shoot the threes in Game 1, and we had the mentality coming in of just let it fly," Martin said. "We were hungry. The only way you beat a team like that is come in and try to play on the same level."

Boston's Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 33 points, and Jayson Tatum finished with 28 points. Brown and Tatum each had eight rebounds.

The Celtics were limited to 12 3-point field goals (on 32 attempts) after they went 22 of 49 from distance during their 114-94 victory in Game 1.

"Two completely different games from Game 1 to Game 2 based on the schemes, so we have to adjust to that," Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. "More switching on their part. Higher pick-up points, and obviously their adjustment to shoot more. We're going to have to find a balance, because a lot of those guys who made shots are also good drivers, especially getting downhill.

"When you play a little bit inefficient offense from the standpoint of fighting for your space and getting there, it puts a ton of pressure on your defense, and that's the kind of team that takes advantage of inefficient offense because of their ability to attack at that other end."

Miami's Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 14 points while Nikola Jovic finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

Boston's Kristaps Porzingis shot 1 of 9 from the field and finished with six points.

Miami led 28-27 after one quarter but trailed 61-58 at halftime. The Heat made 13 3-pointers (on 24 tries) in the first half.

The Heat had a five-point lead with 2:09 left in the half, but the Celtics closed the period on an 11-3 run. Brown scored all 11 Boston points in the sequence, during which he sank three consecutive treys. Neither team led by more than six points in the first two quarters.

A 15-3 run put the Heat up 82-70 with 3:36 remaining in the third quarter. Miami was on top 85-79 entering the fourth.

Game 3 will be played Saturday in Miami.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Miami   Boston
Tyler Herro 24 Scoring Jaylen Brown 33
Tyler Herro 14 Assists Kristaps Porzingis 4
Bam Adebayo 10 Rebounds Jaylen Brown 8
Tyler Herro 4 Free Throws Made Jayson Tatum 6
Nikola Jovic 3 Steals Kristaps Porzingis 3
Nikola Jovic 1 Blocks Kristaps Porzingis 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Miami 111 49.3 23-43 14-18 25 40 1 9 14
Boston 101 46.2 12-32 15-21 21 39 8 9 13
Upcoming Games
  • Boston will play their next game on the road against Miami. The Celtics have a W/L % of .781 after a win and .778 after a loss.
  • Miami will play their next game at home against Boston. The Heat have a W/L % of .533 after a win and .595 after a loss.