The Boston Celtics fell 111-101 to the Miami Heat on Wednesday night to even their NBA Playoffs series at one game apiece.
After the game, Celtics star Jaylen Brown issued a challenge to his teammates, per Jack Simone of Celtics Blog:
“Jaylen Brown on how the Celtics need to respond to their Game 2 loss to the Heat: ‘Come back. Be the harder-playing team next game. And execute. Let everything else take care of itself. Gotta win the fight.'”
Brown also had comments on whether he thought Boston handled Miami's physicality, again per Simone:
“Jaylen Brown on if he thinks the Celtics handled the Heat's physicality well: ‘I think we did a good job of handling the physicality. I don't think we executed the best. I think it came down to making and missing shots… It's a make-or-miss league.'”
Brown is correct that the Celtics will need to be the harder playing team in Game 3, but he does make a great point about it coming down to making or missing shots. The Heat made 23 3-pointers on a night where they were on fire from the outside. If Miami merely hits 19, still a great number, they lose Game 2 to the Celtics.
But the Heat didn't hit 19 3-pointers, they hit 23, led by Tyler Herro's six makes from beyond the arc.
Herro led the Heat in scoring with 24 points on the evening, but his secondary stats were even more impressive as he had five rebounds and 14 assists in Miami's win over the Celtics.
Celtics in a battle with the Heat
Expect the Kaseya Center to be rocking on Saturday reminiscent of the ‘Big 3′ days of Chris Bosh, James and Wade as the Heat prepare for what should be the Celtics' best effort in Game Three.
After a brutal loss to the Celtics in Game 1 last Sunday afternoon, the Heat came back and responded in a huge way as it was crucial to steal one in Boston if they wanted to make this a competitive series. They now have all the momentum as they head back home with the series tied at one a piece.
There's no doubt that there was an overwhelming consensus that the Heat were likely to be swept as the Celtics were, by record and statistics, the best the team in the league. However, it wouldn't be a Miami-Boston series without drama as head coach Erik Spoelstra got his players prepared without Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier available.
But the Celtics were the best team in the NBA this season for a reason, and they have the perfect combination of star power, role players, and defensive prowess to be able to withstand Miami's best shot. It won't be easy, but if the Celtics listen to Brown's challenge, they should be able to at least split the two games in Miami and head back home back in the driver's seat.
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