Celtics vs Heat

Jayson Tatum scored a team-high 27 points while Marcus Smart added 24 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in his return.

8:52 p.m. — The Heat have picked up where they left off, jumping out to a 15-8 lead. 8:30 p.m. Jayson Tatum picks up his second foul of the game with 4:14 remaining in the first quarter. 8:30 p.m. 8:30 p.m. We're almost halfway through the third period and the Celtics are up 23 points. This is getting out of hand for the Heat. 10:12 p.m. — Update: Boston continues to lead ... by a lot. Jayson Tatum scored a team-high 27 points as the Celtics cruised to victory in Game 2 to tie the series up at 1-1. Jimmy Butler leads all scorers with 29 points but he hasn't had much help. 35 35

The Boston Celtics bounced back in a major way on Thursday night, as they cruised to a dominant 127-102 win over the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the Eastern ...

They went 9 of 11 from behind the arc in the first quarter, and hit five in a row during their game-changing 17-0 run. (Half of the fourth was garbage time, though.) Still, this is a concern for the Heat as he's one of their most important defenders. Veteran point guard Kyle Lowry is battling a hamstring problem, and hasn't played since Game 4 against the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round. Instead, the Heat went on a 22-2 run over five-plus minutes to flip control of the game, and pulled away for a double-digit win. In particular, the Celtics could have used their leadership and poise when the Heat went on their huge run in the third quarter on Tuesday night. That advantage didn't last long, The Celtics responded almost immediately with on a 17-0 run to seize control, built an 11-point lead at the end of the first and never trailed again. This was also their third playoff game with at least 20 made 3-pointers, which is tied for the most in a single postseason by one team. They were right back at it on Thursday night, using another impressive shooting display to take down the Heat in Game 2. Most notably, they knocked down 22 3's in their Game 7 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round. The Heat also lost PJ Tucker to a knee contusion, and his status moving forward is unclear. In one of his best performances this postseason, he went for 21 points, nine rebounds, 12 assists and three steals.

The Celtics jumped all over the Heat in Game 2 of the East Finals, and Marcus Smart was the catalyst with a brilliant all-around performance.

Pritchard chipped in 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting with two assists and a steal in 23 minutes. He was 5-of-7 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. His defense was a major factor in the lopsided victory. Smart, who missed Game 1 with a foot sprain, was the star in Boston's Game 2 win. Smart scored 17 of his points in 17 minutes to help the Celtics maintain their 20-point second-half lead. After going down 10 points early in the first quarter, the C's outscored the Heat by 35 in the final 19 minutes of the first half.

Marcus Smart was the difference-maker in the Celtics' dominant Game 2 win over the Heat. We share our takeaways from Boston's 127-102 victory.

Pritchard chipped in 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting with two assists and a steal in 23 minutes. He was 5-of-7 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. His defense was a major factor in the lopsided victory. Smart, who missed Game 1 with a foot sprain, was the star in Boston's Game 2 win. Smart scored 17 of his points in 17 minutes to help the Celtics maintain their 20-point second-half lead. After going down 10 points early in the first quarter, the C's outscored the Heat by 35 in the final 19 minutes of the first half.

Robert Williams needs to stay involved in Game 2 against the Heat, plus more keys for the Celtics as they look to even the series.

Gambling can get you in trouble, but the Celtics couldn’t make Butler pay on Tuesday — he finished with four steals and three blocks in his masterpiece Game 1 performance. So some of it is just feeling out the game and understanding it. Williams grabbed a tough, contested offensive rebound for his first basket, but he caught a pair of lobs from Tatum in the first half when Tatum beat his defender. They will probably have to try to find a different way to win on Thursday. Horford, meanwhile, is a perfect zone breaking 3-point shooter and can find slots in the Heat defense. Butler made them pay with a bruising 41 points and a post-game directive to keep the physical play coming.

SportsLine's Zack Cimini has revealed his 2022 NBA playoff picks for Game 2 of Celtics vs. Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.

- Celtics vs. So who wins Celtics vs. He's only sharing what it is, and which side of the Celtics vs. The Heat are 8-4 against the spread in the NBA playoffs 2022 and they've only failed to cover once at home in the postseason. Now, Cimini has set his sights on Celtics vs. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET from FTX Arena in Miami. Caesars Sportsbook lists Miami at -3.5 in the latest Heat vs.

The experts from BetQL get you ready for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Celtics and Heat. See which player prop bets, like the ...

The price makes it enticing, though, and given the fact that he's hit this number in three of his past five games, it's worth considering. Bam had four of the Heat's 12 (!) blocks in Game 1, leading a rim-protecting master class for Miami. He's gone OVER this total just twice all postseason, but that's happened in two of the past three games, and it's clear there's a defensive presence that the Heat are making sure they establish early in this series. He's hit 30-plus points six times already this postseason, with three games over 40, and he's averaging 37.8 points a game in all six of those overall.

Exploring three big observations from the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.

On the other, the series is tied at 1-1. On one hand, the Celtics have looked mightily impressive. Exploring three big observations from the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.

MIAMI -- — His team was down by 10 in the opening minutes, and Boston coach Ime Udoka was making no effort to hide his level of disappointment.

It was his 863rd career game, the first in which he had five points in the first minute. But a 12-2 run late in the quarter by the Celtics restored a 27-point edge. And the margin could have been worse: Boston led by as many as 34 points in the fourth, putting this game on the cusp of really good Celtics history and really bad Heat history. The other teams who pulled it off: Milwaukee last season (won NBA title), San Antonio in 2013-14 (won NBA title), Boston in 2007-08 (won NBA title), Toronto (2007-08) and Charlotte (2000-01). Brown had 11 points in the first quarter, when the Celtics went 9 for 11 from 3-point range. ... It was the first game since Dallas-Atlanta on Feb. 1, 2020 in which both teams had a 10-point lead in the first quarter.... “It’s regroup, go back to the drawing board and get ready for Game 3." “That's what the experienced players in the locker room and staff understand. You have two really good teams and we just have to figure some things out." Payton Pritchard and Al Horford each had 10 for the Celtics. Jimmy Butler had 29 points in 32 minutes for Miami, which fell to 7-1 at home in these playoffs. “And we did that tonight."

Here are a few things to know ahead of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals series between the Celtics and Heat.

Tatum and the Celtics are back to it in Game 2 with one day of rest and recovery in between games. He made a living at the line in Game 1 and he can again bait Boston into committing fouls if Smart is hobbled and Horford is out again. Jayson Tatum was hot in the first half of Game 1, scoring 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting to lead all scorers. More trips to the line mean more points for Butler. The star forward hauled in eight rebounds in Game 1 and has an over/under of 6.5 for Game 2. With the necessary adjustments coming from each head coach, expect more of a defensive battle and fewer points. Under 207.5. Despite each team showing flashes of defensive brilliance in Game 1, it was a relatively high-scoring affair. Including the Game 1 loss, Boston is 5-9 this season without Horford in the lineup. Aided in part by Horford's expected absence, BetQL predicts Tatum to finish with 11 rebounds in Game 2. Miami has also covered in each of the last three games. Say what you want about the punctuality of Miami's crowd, but the Heat are 7-0 at home during these playoffs. After Boston flexed its defensive muscles early, Jimmy Butler powered Miami to a monstrous third quarter surge to give the Heat a 1-0 series lead.

The Miami Heat take a 1-0 series lead into their Game 2 matchup with the Boston Celtics on Thursday.

Butler over 7.5 rebounds (-108): Butler has surpassed this number in three straight games and in four of his last five. Heat -4 (-109): The Heat have been dominant at home this postseason. The Heat have gone under the total in nine of their 12 playoff games while Celtics unders are 7-5. Joel Embiid, meanwhile, averaged 19.8 points in the second round after leading the NBA in scoring (30.6). He should be a force on the glass tonight. The Miami bench boss seldom allows teams to solve his defence two games in a row.