Heat make stand in Boston, clinch postseason berth with 106-98 victory; playoff tickets on sale April 6
The victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night brought relief because it snapped a four-game losing streak.
But Wednesday night’s Miami Heat 108-98 victory over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden delivered something far greater — hope of potential big things to come in the postseason.
In a game loaded with playoff intensity down to the final seconds, the Heat made a fourth-quarter stand to solidify their place atop the Eastern Conference and clinch a playoff berth.
“What it was,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, “was just great competition.”
The postseason berth was a given, based on what now is a 49-28 record for Spoelstra’s team. But the victory moved the Heat a step closer to clinching the No. 1 overall seed in the East, atop the conference with five games remaining in the regular season.
“It just shows,” point guard Kyle Lowry said, “we can find ways to win on the road and win in hostile environments.”
The Heat found a way even with big nights from Boston’s leading men, with Jaylen Brown scoring 28 and Jayson Tatum 23.
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 24 points, with Lowry adding 23 points and eight assists, and Bam Adebayo 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. There also were 12 points and 10 rebounds from Tyler Herro.
“We had some big-time performances down the stretch,” Spoelstra said.
It was the Celtics’ largest home loss since Jan. 19.
“This,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said, “was a good test for us going forward to kind of feel what it’s going to be like soon.”
Adebayo agreed, from a Heat perspective.
“It definitely gets you ready,” he said, “knowing you could possibly be playing them later on in the playoffs.”
The Heat’s three-game trip doesn’t get much easier, with a Saturday game against the Chicago Bulls and a Sunday game against the Toronto Raptors.
Five Degrees of Heat from Wednesday’s game:
1. Closing time: A wild third quarter that featured a 10-0 Heat run followed by a 16-0 Celtics run ended with Boston up 83-79.
The Heat later moved to a four-point lead midway through the fourth quarter on a Butler jumper, with a Butler transition dunk with 1:43 left giving the Heat a 102-96 lead.
“Jimmy just had his fingerprints all over this game,” Spoelstra said.
A Tatum layup then brought the Celtics within 102-98, with a Heat 24-second violation following with 1:15 to play.
Then, with 33.6 seconds to play and the Heat up four, Tatum was called for a charge against Max Strus, with Boston challenging the call. The call stood, with the Celtics losing their final timeout.
“That charge was a big momentum-changing play,” Spoelstra said.
With the Heat 13 of 20 from the line at that stage, Adebayo then stepped to the line with 27.1 seconds to play and made only the first of two free throws. The Heat held on from there.
“This is a good win, playing against the hottest teams in the NBA,” Lowry said.
2. Playoff tickets: The Heat announced that individual game tickets for their first-round playoff series against a yet-to-be-determined opponent will go on sale April 6 at 10 a.m., with the team going with a White Hot theme for the first time since the 2018 playoffs.
The Heat will open the playoffs at FTX Arena on either April 16 or April 17.
Once tickets go on sale, there will be a four-ticket limit per household, per game.
Initial sales will be for the Heat’s four home games in the best-of-seven series.
All Heat home playoff games will be mobile-only entry.
3. Fill ‘er up: Adebayo was at his most versatile as he flirted with a triple-double.
He was forced to return with 7:43 to play, after Dewayne Dedmon fouled out in his 15 minutes, closing 5 of 10 from the field and 7 of 9 from the line, with just one turnover.
His defense, more than his numbers, ultimately proved decisive, at the heart of several Heat late defensive stands.
“We hang our hats on getting stops,” Adebayo said. “I feel like this was the biggest thing in the fourth quarter, we got stops.”
Butler was appreciative.
“He’s always like,” Butler said, “and I think we rely on him too much at times.”
4. Lowry for three: Lowry continued his late-season uptick with his 3-point productivity, with this the sixth time in the last seven games he has converted at least three, after not doing so in his previous five appearances.
He closed 6 of 12 from beyond the arc.
“Just getting ready to prepare for the moments that I know are going to be big for us,” Lowry said of the impending playoffs.
Lowry’s seventh 3-point attempt moved him past Joe Johnson for 14th on the NBA all-time list.
“He just has a great mind for competition and how to impact winning,” Spoelstra said of Lowry.
5. Same again: Spoelstra stayed with the revamped rotation unveiled in Monday’s victory over the Sacramento Kings, with Strus starting in place of Duncan Robinson.
That had Robinson again playing in reserve, with Victor Oladipo and Markieff Morris shuffled out of the mix, their comebacks put on hold for a second consecutive game.
“Sometimes losing can force you to make some necessary adjustments,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat 2-0 with the revised alignment after the four-game skid.
And, again, it worked.
“We’ve gotten a lot better of knowing where the ball has to go, putting everybody in the positions they need to be successful,” Butler said.
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