The Miami Heat sped up the Indiana pacers, shocked the Milwaukee Bucks and, in the opening game of the Eastern Conference final, rushed against the Boston Celtics. Miami started the series at the wrong end of the 8-0 run and made it to the series by 13 points in the first quarter, seeing them completely dembobulate on offense. He hung around, and in the end, escaped with a clutch game from Jimmy Butler and an incredible, game-winning block by Bam Adebayo with a 117-114 win in overtime.
Butler attacked the basket against Jason Tatum and scored on his outstretched arms, earning the wrong amount in the process and giving Miami a two-point lead with 12 seconds left. On the next possession, Tatum ran in front of Butler and went to make a sound, but Adebayo found him on the rim and turned the ball over. Tatum then missed a frustrated 3-pointer on Butzer.
With 22 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Butler hit 3 corners to give the Heat a one-point lead, but, after the deadline, before it was entered by the Celtics, Derrick Jones Jr. gave bad advice on the ball. In overtime, Kemba Waker hit a stepback jumper with 23.2 seconds left, but then Butler and Adebayo saved the day for Miami.
Butler finished with 20 points in 7-for-14 shooting, but the most important offensive player of the hit was Goran Dredic, who scored 29 points in 11-for-19 shooting. Miami outscored Boston 35-35 in the final frame and 11-8 in overtime.
Tatum scored 30 points in the 10-for-24 shooting and Marcus Smart added 26 points in the 9-for-18 shooting, but Kemba Waker scored 6-for-19 for his points. Miami tried to get the zoning out of the wrap, with a mixture of 2-3-2 zones, trapping and switching. This time, it worked well enough.
Game 2 Thursday at 7 pm ET.
