Heat scored a franchise playoff record 23 3-pointers against the Eastern top seed, as Thunder sank Pelicans in the West.
The Miami Heat unleashed a barrage of three-pointers to score a series-levelling 111-101 upset over the top-seeded Boston Celtics in their NBA Eastern Conference playoff duel.
Eighth-seeded Miami, playing without the injured Jimmy Butler, produced a battling performance on Wednesday to tie the best-of-seven series at 1-1 as the teams head back to Florida for game three on Saturday.
Tyler Herro led the Miami scoring with 24 points, part of a balanced offensive effort that saw all five Heat starters post double-digit points.
But the key to the Miami victory was their accuracy from long range, with the Heat draining 23 three-pointers from 43 attempts compared with Boston’s 12 of 32.
Herro knocked down six threes while Caleb Martin added five to his tally of 21 points.
Bam Adebayo also finished with 21 points while Jaime Jaquez Jr added 14 and Nikola Jovic 11.
#HEATWin Final (Game 2) – Miami 111, Boston 101
🔥 Herro: 24pts, 14ast, 5reb, 6 3PM
🔥 Adebayo: 21pts, 10reb
🔥 Martin: 21pts, 5 3PM
🔥 Jaquez Jr.: 14pts, 3 3PM
🔥 Jović: 11pts, 9reb, 6ast, 3stl, 3 3PM pic.twitter.com/xXcTmtX8UF— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 25, 2024
Boston, meanwhile, were led by 33 points from Jaylen Brown, with Jayson Tatum finishing with 28 in a losing effort.
The win was all the more unexpected given Miami’s 20-point drubbing by Boston in game one on Sunday – something Herro said had motivated the Heat for game two.
“We lost badly in game one and everybody responded tonight, and that’s all you can ask for from a group of guys,” Herro said afterwards.
It was another trademark display of defiance from Miami, who are aiming to emulate their playoff run of last season when they reached the NBA Finals after entering the postseason via the play-in tournament.
“We don’t even want to mention last year, this year is a whole new year,” Herro said.
Boston star Tatum, meanwhile, said the Celtics had expected a backlash after their comfortable game one victory.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Tatum said.
“There’s a lot of history between these two franchises, especially recently.
“Regardless of seeding or who’s in or who’s out – it’s the playoffs … we’ve got a chance to play another one on Saturday – should be a fun one.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shows full command of the floor and leads the @okcthunder to a 2-0 series lead!
Chet Holmgren: 26 PTS (9-13 FGM), 3 3PM, 7 REB
Jalen Williams: 21 PTS, 5 REB, 7 AST
Lu Dort: 15 PTS, 4 3PMGame 3: Saturday, 3:30pm/et on TNT pic.twitter.com/K5Cah3xmsL
— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2024
Oklahoma City Thunder 124-9 New Orleans Pelicans
While the Eastern Conference top seeds were left licking their wounds, there were no such problems for Boston’s Western Conference counterparts Oklahoma City.
The number one ranked Thunder took a commanding 2-0 lead in their first-round series against the eighth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans with an emphatic 124-92 thrashing.
The Thunder took the lead early in the first quarter and were in complete control throughout, holding a double-digit advantage from the second quarter onwards which reached 34 points at one stage late in the fourth quarter.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the scoring for Oklahoma City, finishing with 33 points from 13-of-19 shooting from the field.
Chet Holmgren added 26 points while Jalen Williams chipped in with 21. Luguentz Dort added 15 points including four three-pointers.
The result was in stark contrast to game one, which went down to the wire before Oklahoma City prevailed 94-92 on Sunday.
“Within a seven-game series, we’ve just got to take it day by day and try to get better every day,” Gilgeous-Alexander said afterwards.
“And I think that’s what we did tonight. We definitely had a better performance than we did in game one and that’s our goal. So we’ll take it.”
The series now heads to game three in New Orleans on Saturday.
