Boston Celtics fans hoping for a sweep of the undermanned Miami Heat were sorely disappointed after Wednesday’s stunning Game 2 loss at home.
The Heat thoroughly outplayed the Celtics in a 111-101 affair at TD Garden. Miami buried Boston with a barrage of three-pointers — 23 to be exact — and the home team just couldn’t keep up.
Jayson Tatum Reacts To Boston Celtics’ Brutal Game 2 Loss At Home
Tatum was understandably somber during his postgame press conference. The Celtics star was asked to weigh in on the disheartening defeat.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” said Tatum. “There’s a lot of history between these two franchises, especially recently. Regardless of seeding, who’s in or who’s out.
“It’s the playoffs. Especially that team. It’s never going to go how people expect it to go. That’s the beauty of being in the playoffs and playing at the highest level. That’s part of it. We lost the game and we’ve got a chance to play again on Saturday. Should be another fun one.”
"We knew it wasn't going to be easy. There's a lot of history between these two franchises, especially recently."
Jayson Tatum talks about how the Heat came out and responded in Game 2 pic.twitter.com/3VrzXT5te3
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) April 25, 2024
Celtics frontman Jayson Tatum didn’t have a bad game based on the box score. He finished with 28 points on 10/20 shooting from the floor to go along with 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
Boston also got a strong outing from Tatum’s co-star Jaylen Brown, who led the team with 33 points on a sturdy 13/23 shooting clip.
But Boston’s star tandem was outdone by Miami’s balanced scoring attack. All five Heat starters scored in double figures. Three of them — Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, and Caleb Martin — scored over 20 points.
The Boston Celtics also got clowned by both the internet and by Heat star Jimmy Butler. The injured Heat star mockingly quoted Jaylen Brown from last playoffs when Boston threatened to come back from a 3-0 hole against the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Expect the top-seeded Celtics to try to bounce back in a big way as the series shifts to Miami.