With the Celtics trailing the Heat by 2 points with 10 seconds left in overtime, All-Star forward Jayson Tatum dribbled near the top of the key and looked for his chance to be the hero.
He got a step on his defender, made a powerful drive to the hoop, and went up for a one-handed dunk. The only problem was that Bam Adebayo went up, too. The Heat forward met Tatum in mid-air and cleanly swallowed up his attempt, preserving Miami’s 117-114 win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night.
The Celtics actually had a chance to tie after Adebayo made 1 of 2 free throws with 2.2 seconds left. Tatum gathered Marcus Smart’s full-court inbounds pass, fell, got back up, and fired up a 3-pointer that rimmed out.
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Tatum scored 30 points and Smart added 26 for the Celtics. Goran Dragic had 29 points and seven rebounds to lead Miami.
The Celtics held a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter and still led, 105-100, when Heat guard Tyler Herro hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:02 left. Kemba Walker was then blocked inside by Jae Crowder, and at the other end Jimmy Butler hit a tough 3-pointer from the right corner with 22 seconds to play, putting Miami in front.
After a timeout, Derrick Jones Jr. checked in for defensive purposes for Miami, but before the ball was inbounded he ran into Smart and was called for a foul, resulting in a free throw for Boston. Tatum hit the free throw, but then missed a potential winning 3-pointer, forcing overtime.
The Celtics took a 110-106 lead early in the extra session, but center Daniel Theis fouled out with 3:31 left. After a pair of Dragic free throws, former Crowder drilled an open three from the left arc to put Miami in front, and then Adebayo leaked out for a dunk after a Tatum miss.
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Jaylen Brown pulled Boston back within 1 on a tip-in, then with 23.2 seconds left Walker put hit a tough step-back jumper. The Heat cleared out for Butler, who drove on Tatum and scored with 12 seconds left as he was fouled. Then Adebayo ultimately took care of the rest.
Game 2 is Thursday night.
Some early observations:
▪ It was a promising start for the Celtics when Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson missed a 3-pointer and Smart drilled one at the other end. Smart has had scorching stretches in Orlando, and he started this game with another one, with 10 first-quarter points.
▪ Robinson picked up his second foul a little more than two minutes into the game and sat for the rest of the first quarter. Then he reentered midway through the second and picked up his third foul less than a minute later and went back to the bench for the rest of the half. Celtics coach Brad Stevens tends to let his players play through foul trouble, essentially determining that the value of the minutes lost by sitting on the bench is higher than the potential risk of picking up another foul. But the Heat’s Erik Spoelstra did not risk it with his top shooter. It also helps that he has Herro on the bench to replace Robinson.
▪ The Heat are a very good defensive team, but they simply do not have the size in the interior that the 76ers and Raptors do, and the Celtics seemed almost relieved to attack the rim at will in the opening quarter.
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▪ The Heat play more zone defense than any team in the NBA, and although they have not used it quite as frequently in Orlando, they certainly dusted it off in the first half Tuesday. While the Raptors threw all kinds of zone iterations at the Celtics, the Heat generally run a 2-3 scheme, but the Toronto series should have offered good preparation anyway. The Celtics generally moved the ball well against the defense in the first half.
▪ The Celtics led by as many as 13 points in the first half, but the Heat shooters found a rhythm in the second quarter, at one point making six shots in a row. The Celtics lost the Heat’s shooters in fast-break situations a few times, and they paid. After starting the game 1 for 10, Miami closed the half by making 18 of 29 shots.
▪ Walker was slowed by a box-and-one defense for long stretches of the Toronto series, but on Tuesday he scuffled against Miami’s zone sets. The Heat put their longer wings at the top of the zone to make life tougher on shooters, and All-NBA defender Adebayo did well to reduce Walker’s airspace in pick-and-roll situations, and he also just missed a few shots that he usually makes. Early in the third quarter, Stevens called time out and drew up for a play for Walker that got him a 3-point attempt, but he missed it.
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▪ Brown has been hovering around 90 percent from the foul line throughout these playoffs, a massive improvement for a career 67.8 percent free throw shooter. Brown has said in the past that his struggles were more about mentality than mechanics, so perhaps he’s just comfortable with no fans in the stands. It’ll be interesting to see if this is something he can build on whenever fans return.
▪ These games can shift so suddenly, and the Celtics have shown they can be explosive. Late in the third quarter, the Heat had the ball and trailed by just 2 points. Then Kelly Olynyk missed a shot inside, and Tatum was fouled as he dribbled up court. But the Celtics were in the penalty, and then Olynyk picked up a technical foul. So Tatum drilled all three free throws, getting him in rhythm to hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key on the next possession, igniting Boston’s 13-2 run to close the quarter.
▪ Brad Wanamaker was excellent. He had 11 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals. Stevens kept him on the floor for an important fourth-quarter stretch, and with Boston leading, 90-82, Wanamaker came up with a steal and coasted in for a layup that stretched the lead back to double digits. Stevens has trusted him in big spots all season, and this game was no different. Wanamaker was used sparingly last season after leaving a lucrative deal overseas to sign with Boston, and had to be convinced a bit that there would be a role for him this season if he returned. It’s all worked out.
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Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.
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