Now that I’m home from studying abroad, I am able to watch games at normal times in the day, which means that I can now write game reports on a quarter to quarter basis during intermissions. While this isn’t my normal style of writing, and although it may not be as interesting and as unique as my usual posts, it is nice to practice every once in a while to keep the gears greased. So, if by chance you didn’t have the time to watch the game, this is your place to get a quick summary for each quarter of the game.
QUARTER ONE – 25-24 BOSTON
The Celtics came out slow to start the quarter, but by the time the clock hit zero, the train was on the right track. Defense was turning into offense, Tatum was hitting threes, and even Joe Mazzulla was making solid substitutions by putting Grant Williams in. The Heat also played a great quarter, finishing one point back from the Celts on the scoreboard with 25. Jimmy Butler continued to be a problem, but it was his surrounding cast of Max Strus and Caleb Martin that did most of the damage on the score sheet.
QUARTER TWO – 54-50 MIAMI
Unlike the first quarter, the Celtics came out firing, scoring eight straight points and forcing Spoelstra to burn one of his timeouts. This was a quarter of swings. When Jimmy Butler left the game, Boston went on a 15-5 run, and when Tatum exited, Miami went on a 13-2 run to call their own. Caleb Martin continued to play well for the Heat this quarter. He finished the half with a team high of 14 points, helping the Heat to a 54-50 lead going into the third quarter.
QUARTER THREE – 83-75 BOSTON
The Celtics outscored the Heat 33-21 in this quarter, and it’s all thanks to Boston’s defense and Tatum’s efforts on offense. Joe Mazzulla changed up his strategy this quarter, giving Tatum loads more control on offense. Unsurprisingly, when he was directing traffic, the Celtics had many more looks because the Heat were forced to respect his threat to score. Tatum had 15 points in the quarter and facilitated about 10 others.
QUARTER FOUR – 111-105 MIAMI
The Celtics absolutely fell apart in this one. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown didn’t make a single field goal in the entire quarter, proving once again that Boston has some of the least clutch star players in the league. The C’s couldn’t buy a stop on the defensive end, letting up 36 points in the quarter, with most of the thanks to an 18-4 run by Miami after Grant Williams poked the bear that is Jimmy Butler. Just another sad second half performance by the Celtics to go down 0-2 in the series.