Celtics Cool Off Heat in Road Win

The Boston Celtics went on the road and defeated the Miami Heat 109-101 in the American Airlines Arena. 

Forward, Gordon Hayward led the way for the Celtics scoring 29 points and added nine rebounds. Another forward, Jaylen Brown also play a big role in the win, going 4-8 from behind the arc, on his way to scoring 25 points. Forward, Bam Adebayo and guard, Goran Dragic both put forth strong efforts in the loss. The fromer scored 16 points to pair with 10 boards for his 27 double-double of the year. While the latter had 23 points in 30 minutes coming off the bench.  

Boston jumped out to a quick lead finishing the first quarter up 36-28. But the Heat wouldn’t go away cutting the lead down to five by the end of the second quarter. The teams traded buckets for the majority of the third quarter with the Heat seemingly having the edge. But just when it looked like the quarter would end with the Heat only down by a single point, guard, Brad Wanamaker, hit a clutch three with three seconds left to extend the Celtics lead to four. This bucket would be a momentum killer for the Heat as they were never able within four points of the Celtics for the rest of the game. 

The key difference in the game was three point shooting. The Celtics excelled at it for the majority of the game going 13-36 from behind the arc. Whereas the Heat struggled going 9-37 from deep. This was especially apparent down the stretch, the Heat went 2-8 from three point land in the fourth quarter. 

This game was an important one for the Celtics who were able to beat a team they are chasing in the standings. With the win the Celtics improved to 31-15 on the season. They leapfrogged the Philadelphia 76ers in the standing and moved into fourth place in the Eastern Conference. It was a tough loss for the Heat who have been almost unbeatable at home this season where they own a 21-3 record. A win would have put them into a tie with the streaking Toronto Raptors for second place in the East. But with the loss, they fall one game back of the Raptors and now are in sole possession of third place.