Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat is defended by Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics in the third quarter of one of the Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 17, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. Adam Glanzman/Getty Images/AFP
Jimmy Butler had 35 points, seven assists, six steals and five rebounds to lead the Miami Heat to a 123-116 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday night.
Bam Adebayo had 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists as the Heat rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second quarter. Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin, Max Struss and Gabe Vincent each scored 15 points for Miami.
Jayson Tatum recorded 30 points and 7 rebounds, and Jaylen Brown had 22 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists for Boston. Malcolm Brogdon scored 19 points, Robert Williams III had 14 points and 7 rebounds, and Marcus Smart had 13 points and 11 assists for the Celtics.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Friday night in Boston.
The Heat took a 114-105 lead after Butler’s basket with 5:33 remaining before the Celtics scored the next five points. Martin ended Miami’s 3:23 scoring drought by burying a 3-pointer to make it 117-110 with 2:10 to play.
Jimmy Butler leads #8 @MiamiHEAT to a road win in Game 1 of the ECF.
35 PTS
7 HST
6 STL (Playoff Career High)📅 Game 2: Friday, 8:30pm ET on TNT pic.twitter.com/GXX7eHrOxy
— NBA (@NBA) May 18, 2023
Butler then hit a 3-pointer that went in-and-out and back in to make it a 10-point game with 1:03 left and the Heat closed it out.
Miami shot 54.1 percent from the field, including 16 of 31 from 3-point range.
Boston made 51.9 percent of its shots and was 10 of 29 from behind the arc. Derrick White scored 11 points for the Celtics.
Miami trailed 66-57 at halftime and outscored Boston 46-25 in the third quarter to take a 12-point lead.
Max Struss #31 talks with Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat after defeating the Boston Celtics in game one of the Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 17, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Heat beat the Celtics 123-116. Adam Glanzman/Getty Images/AFP
The Celtics took a 71-59 lead after Smart’s 3-pointer 65 seconds into the Heat’s explosion.
Miami used a 13-1 spurt to tie the score. The Heat later went on a 10-2 push to take an 86-80 lead on a 3-pointer by Strus with 4:25 left.
Butler’s 3-pointer made it 95-87 with 1:56 left, and the Strus finished the quarter 17-of-26 on 3-pointers with 7.6 seconds left as Miami took a 103-91 lead into the final quarter.
Boston battled back with an opening seven points in the fourth quarter to pull within five, but couldn’t catch the Heat.
Tatum scored 18 points in the first half. The score was tied at 47 before the Celtics went on a 15-2 run to open a 13-point lead with 2:08 left in the second quarter.
Butler scored 15 points and Lowry had 13 in the first half for the Heat.
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