The Miami Heat pulled out an impressive 106-104 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals on Friday night, and they now sit just two wins away from an NBA Finals berth. It was a back-and-forth affair that saw both teams blow double-digit leads, but ultimately it was the Heat who were able to take care of business down the stretch.
As he has throughout the playoffs, Jimmy Butler led the way for Miami with 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and he hit several big buckets down the stretch to lift the Heat to victory. Bam Adebayo also had a huge game for Miami. He finished one assist shy of a triple-double with 22 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists.
Jayson Tatum paced the Celtics with 34 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. It's another monster stat line for the star forward, but he was unable to convert a field goal in the fourth quarter for the second straight game. Boston really could have used some added production from Tatum in that final frame too, as they were outscored 38-22 over the final 12 minutes. Jaylen Brown added 16 points, four rebounds and three assists for Boston.
The Celtics will now have to try to climb back into this series on the road, while the Heat are in an ideal position with a 2-0 lead heading home for two straight games. Here's a look at three key takeaways from Miami's Game 2 victory.
1. Grant Williams' impact
One major change that the Celtics made in Game 2 was playing Grant Williams. Williams didn't play in the first game of the series, and he played 26 minutes on Friday night. In that time, he scored nine points, grabbed two rebounds and dished out two assists. That production isn't what his performance in this game is going to be remembered for though. Instead, he's going to catch some flak for "poking the bear" and aggravating Jimmy Butler in the fourth quarter.
Grant talked some trash to Butler after knocking down a 3-pointer, and then the two had to be separated on the other side of the floor after Butler scored on Williams and was fouled in the process.
Following Williams' 3-pointer, the Heat outscored the Celtics 24-9 the rest of the way, with nine of those points scored by Butler himself.
Butler was having a relatively pedestrian game prior to his back-and-forth with Williams, which provided him with a bit of extra motivation to step his play up down the stretch. "I knew that was gonna be good for us, knowing Jimmy...We'll take mad Jimmy any time," Caleb Martin said after the game, "You could see it in his eyes he was ready to go after that."
Next time, Williams might want to think twice before provoking Butler.
2. Martin and Robinson stepped up big time
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo both did their thing in Game 2, but Miami also got an enormous boost from a pair of bench players. Caleb Martin (25 points) and Duncan Robinson (15) combined for 40 points and outscored Boston's bench by themselves. They shot a combined 17-of-25 from the floor and both guys added three triples. Both hit several big shots for Miami, and this win likely wouldn't have been possible without both of their contributions. Those two hitting for 40 helped to offset the fact that two other key contributors -- Kyle Lowry and Kevin Love -- combined for zero points. Miami will need a bit more from those two guys moving forward, but they would love to continue to get big-time production from Martin and Robinson.
3. Another quiet 4th quarter from Tatum
The Celtics will need more from Jayson Tatum in the fourth quarters of the series moving forward. Game 2 was the second straight game that Tatum was held without a field goal in the final frame, and that's just simply not going to get the job done for the Celtics. That's not to say that this loss is Tatum's fault, but Boston was outscored 38-22 in that fourth quarter, and they really could have used some added production from their best player.
Equally as concerning as his lack of point production in the final frame is the fact that he has five turnovers in the fourth quarters of the first two games of the series. He needs to do a bit better job of taking care of the ball down the stretch of these games, as the Celtics just can't afford to give possessions away.
In fairness to Tatum, he was very good through the first three quarters, and the Celtics wouldn't have even been in a position to potentially pull out a win without his early production. Star players are expected to produce in the playoffs when it matters most though, and that's what the Celtics will need from Tatum moving forward. We know he's capable of it. All we have to do is look back to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals when he sunk the Sixers with 16 points in the final frame.