No. 0 Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics begs for a goalie call as No. 14 Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat cradles the ball during the second quarter of the second game of the NBA Eastern Conference First Round playoffs at TD Garden on April 24, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
BOSTON — After outscoring the Heat by 42 points from 3-point range in a 20-point victory in the NBA playoff series opener, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla knew Miami would adjust for Game 2.
The Heat did so, taking a page from how Boston demoralized opponents from beyond the arc throughout the regular season.
Miami connected on a franchise playoff record 23 3-pointers, surprising the East's top-seeded Celtics 111-101 on Wednesday night.
READ: NBA Playoffs: Heat hit playoff-record 23 3s to tie Celtics at 1-1
Boston, the NBA's second-best 3-point shooting team, set its own playoff franchise record with 22 3-pointers in Game 1. But it was just 12 of 32 on Wednesday. The Heat finished 23 of 43, which was also a franchise playoff record for 3s made by a Boston opponent.
Tyler Herro led Miami with six 3s, followed by Caleb Martin with five. Six Heat players had at least two triples.
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum drives to the basket past the Miami Heat during the first half of Game 2 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
While Miami's volume increased and put pressure on Boston, Mazzulla thought his team was trying to make things difficult on the perimeter.
“They obviously made a conscious effort to have the freedom to shoot more,” Mazzulla said. “I found most of them to be moderately to strongly contested. And so we will have to make adjustments to some of them.”
It didn't take long to realize that Miami would be willing to let the ball fly more on the outside.
READ: NBA: Celtics and Thunder hope to see different Heat and Pelicans
The Heat made eight 3-pointers in the first quarter after making 12 total in Game 1. Of their 19 field goal attempts in the quarter, 15 were 3s. By comparison, Boston had just eight.
Miami also only had one 2-point field goal in the period.
Boston sometimes entered a zone, but Miami was efficient, arriving on counterattacks before the Celtics could establish their defense.
“It seemed like we couldn’t make them miss. We thought they were good closures. … But they had a record night,” Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said before the game that his team's volume had to increase because of the Celtics' 3-point production in Game 1. He didn't think they would hold Boston to 25 attempts or hit 50 of them. own.
Joe Mazzulla responds to Miami going 23-43 in 3PT tonight pic.twitter.com/1oJE8qk9EZ
– Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) April 25, 2024
Miami didn't, but it came very close in both numbers.
“It always gets better when you make shots,” Spoelstra said. “Those are the ones that are available, and if we don’t take them, it will potentially look a lot like Game 1.”
Boston averaged an NBA-high 42.5 attempts per game this season and had 49 in Game 1.
Martin, whose hard foul on Jayson Tatum late in Game 1 resulted in a brief one-on-one confrontation with Brown, was met with boos every time he touched the ball on Wednesday.
He was also one of Miami's most effective 3-point shooters early, hitting three in the first 24 minutes. Herro led the Heat with four 3s in the half.
As a team, the Heat were 13 of 24 and trailed 61-58 at halftime. Boston shot 8-of-20 at the end of the half, but All-Stars Brown and Jayson Tatum combined for 39 points, shooting 16-of-27 from the field and 5-of-12 from 3.
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But the Heat remained hot in the third quarter, shooting 6 of 9 from distance to take an 85-79 lead into the fourth.
“It’s a league that counts or not. We have to come back and respond in the next game,” Brown said.
