The star player of the Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler was incredible with 41 points, and a defense recovered in the second half allowed the Heat to win (118-107) a first victory at the expense of Boston in their Eastern Conference final, Tuesday, May 17 in the NBA playoffs.

Miami had badly started its game, they were badly handled in the first half by Boston and Jayson Tatum then on a cloud, before brutally bringing them back to earth and reversing everything in the third quarter (39-14), by finding its usual fighting spirit and its roughness.

“We had to react, that’s what turned things around. We had to play hard. We put in a lot of effort. It was a grind the whole game against these guys. And it’s going to be the same every game,” commented Butler, after scoring 27 points in the final 24 minutes (9 rbds, 5 assists).

The Miami team then woke up and swept everything in its path the C’s were atomized despite leading serenely by eight units at the break (62-54) and found themselves twelve minutes later relegated to 17 lengths (93-76).

Tatum, who had been on fire during the first two quarters with 21 points, the best total of his career in the play-offs, scored only two free throws during the third. He finished with 29 points (8 rbds, 6 assists, 4 steals).



LTatum was playing well but finished smothered. The same goes for Jaylen Brown, who was very present (24 pts, 10 rbds), and Payton Pritchard, who was efficient off the bench (18 pts).


During the impressive 3rd quarter of the Heat, Butler had 13 points and gave the lead in defense. He finished with 4 steals and 3 counters, including one that answered the one that Tatum had inflicted a few minutes earlier, symbolizing his advantage in this duel in the game.

“I continued to play good basketball. Putting up open shots. I contested every shot Jayson made, trying not to foul him, because he’s very crafty,” the Heat leader summed up.

There were counters on all sides in this game, 20 in total, 12 for Miami including 9 in the second half, 8 for Boston. Enough to make a Top 10, as they were almost all spectacular.

The super defender, Bam Adebayo was the most performing with 4 “blocks”, for lack of being prolific in attack (10 pts), after having been pushed for a long time by Robert Williams III (18 pts, 9 rbds), who hurt his leg and did not finish the game.



It became very difficult for the Celtics, who already had to do without Marcus Smart, hit on a foot, and Al Horford, entered under Covid protocol. Without them, their defense did not have the same weight.

The Miami Heat actually had some answers on offense, like Tyler Herro, who returned his costume of best 6th man of the season (18 pts, 8 rbds), and Gabe Vincent (17 pts) making forget the absence of Kyle Lowry (hamstring).

The Celtics were knocked out on their feet but finished better without getting close enough to prevent the loss.

“We lost our composure in the third quarter. To cash in on a 39-14 game by scoring only 2 of 15 baskets is hard to overcome. It came down to physicality. They imposed their will. In the 4th, we came back to eight, nine points and they increased their intensity again. That’s what made all the difference,” lamented coach Ime Udoka, who was frustrated to lose after winning three of the game’s four periods.