The Celtics entered Wednesday’s game against the Heat all but locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, and the fact that Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Al Horford were given the night off provided one indication of how much Boston was prioritizing a win.
Another arrived when coach Joe Mazzulla pulled his regular rotation players with the Celtics trailing by 16 points with more than five minutes left, a big but hardly insurmountable deficit.
Nevertheless, when Mazzulla went to the locker room to meet with his team following its 124-103 loss that snapped a nine-game winning streak, he was pleased to see that his players shared his general viewpoint
“I mean, we’re all pissed,” Mazzulla said. “I mean, we all hate losing. And that was my message. It was a good reminder that losing still sucks. So I love the fact that the staff are all miserable. Guys are pissed. Not happy about it, but we’ve got to come back and do it again the next day. I think it’s great.”
This season the Celtics, who just came back from a perfect 6-0 trip, have emerged as one of the best road teams in NBA history. But their returns home have been less pleasant. Wednesday’s loss dropped them to 0-5 this season in their first game at TD Garden after a road trip of at least three games.
“Those first games back, that’s always a tough one just from a calibration standpoint,” forward Jaylen Brown said. “We’ve been in three different time zones. You’ve been away from home. You just get home and kind of get settled, and then you have to play a basketball game. So sometimes it’s just like — it be like that sometimes.”
The Cavaliers appeared to sew up the top seed in the Eastern Conference weeks ago, but Boston’s recent surge combined with Cleveland’s mild downturn at least raised the possibility that the Celtics could make a push for the top spot. But this loss combined with the Cavaliers’ win over the Knicks Wednesday essentially extinguishes those hopes, with Cleveland stretching its lead back to five games with just six remaining.
The Heat (35-41), meanwhile, are trying to push into the 7/8 play-in game, with the winner likely drawing the Celtics in the opening round. Miami’s chances seemed slim until this current six-game winning streak that has left it just a game behind the eighth-place Hawks.
“You never know what could happen,” Celtics guard Derrick White said. “I mean, us playing Miami in the playoffs would not surprise me because it happened every year I’ve been here. We’re just trying to control what we can control and when we figure out who we play, we’ll be ready to go from there.”
In the third quarter Wednesday, Boston needed just five minutes to whittle a 22-point deficit to 4. With TD Garden shaking and the Celtics surging, the rest seemed inevitable. But the Heat punched back before it was too late.
Brown had 24 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Celtics. Jayson Tatum struggled through a 4-for-17 shooting night and had 16 points. Tyler Herro scored 25 points to lead the Heat, who shot 51.8 percent from the field.
The Celtics started just 3 for 18 from the 3-point line and the Heat led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter. After the Celtics pulled within 54-45 with four Tatum free throws, Herro rushed upcourt and made a layup with 29 seconds left to set up a two-for-one, and after a Tatum missed a layup, the Heat cashed in when Herro found Haywood Highsmith in the left corner for a 3-pointer that made it 59-45 at the break.
Luke Kornet had a strong first half for Boston, with 10 points despite playing just 10 minutes because he collected three fouls.
Then Mazzulla started the third quarter by replacing Kornet with forward Torrey Craig, but the small-ball lineup caused no problems for the Heat, who mostly got to the rim as they pleased, with dunks by Pelle Larsson and Kel’el Ware helping them surge to a 71-49 lead, their largest.
“Just playing with a little bit of speed,” Mazzulla said. “I thought we ended the first half well with that, and Luke had three fouls, so wanted to preserve some of that, especially going up and then to start the quarter, so just continuing to find different ways to impact the game.”
Kornet returned soon after that burst, and that is when Boston’s fortunes changed. The Celtics made just three 3-pointers over the game’s first 28 minutes but suddenly caught fire, connecting on six over a four-minute span.
A 3-pointer by Baylor Scheierman with 4:28 left capped the Celtics’ 25-6 run and pulled them within 77-74 before the Heat stretched their lead back to 10 by the start of the fourth.
A Sam Hauser 3-pointer followed by a Neemias Queta 3-point play briefly cut the deficit to 91-87. But consecutive 3-pointers by Larsson and Davion Mitchell helped make it 111-96 at the 5:02 mark. Mazzulla called timeout and inserted his backups, an early surrender in most instances, but a logical one considering Boston’s position in the standings.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.
