The Celtics had a golden opportunity to open the Eastern Conference finals with a win, building a 14-point fourth-quarter lead.
But Game 1 against the Miami Heat slipped away from the Celtics, who were overtaken, 117-114, in overtime thanks to the heroics of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo on Tuesday night.
Game 2 will be played at Disney World on Thursday night at 7 p.m.
"We got stagnant. We rested," said Marcus Smart. "We got complacent and against a team like [...]
The Celtics had a golden opportunity to open the Eastern Conference finals with a win, building a 14-point fourth-quarter lead.
But Game 1 against the Miami Heat slipped away from the Celtics, who were overtaken, 117-114, in overtime thanks to the heroics of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo on Tuesday night.
Game 2 will be played at Disney World on Thursday night at 7 p.m.
"We got stagnant. We rested," said Marcus Smart. "We got complacent and against a team like this, you can’t get complacent. Up 14, up 20, 30, they’re really good at playing from behind.’’
Butler made a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left in regulation to put the Heat in front, then converted a three-point play with 12 seconds remaining in overtime to open a 116-114 lead.
Adebayo then made the defensive play of the postseason, blocking a dunk attempt by Jayson Tatum at the rim with three seconds to go to prevent the Celtics from tying the game. Tatum appeared ready to slam home the tying basket, only to have Adebayo go up and reject him.
"It’s the playoffs,’’ said Adebayo, "and I made a great play.’’
That allowed the Heat to finish off a fourth-quarter comeback from 14 points and grab the early edge in the series.
"That’s exactly how we expected it,’’ said Smart. "A great game, two great teams who played really hard. They got the plays at the end that mattered. They did their job and it’s up to us to come back in Game 2.’’
Tatum had 30 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocked shots. He has had five straight double-doubles in the playoffs.
But Tatum went 2-for-10, including 0-for-4 on 3-pointers, in the fourth quarter and OT. His last field goal came with 7:29 remaining in regulation.
Smart scored 26 points, hitting six 3-pointers while Jaylen Brown scored 17 and Brad Wanamaker chipped in with 11 points, six rebounds and five steals.
Kemba Walker struggled with his shot for a third game in a row, missing 13 of 19, including 1 of 9 from 3-point range. Walker, who had 19 points and six assists, is now 13-for-46, including 3-for-22 on 3-pointers, in the last three playoff games.
"I’m just playing terrible, to be honest,’’ said Walker. "Not much I can say, but I just have to be better for this team on both ends of the floor. I have to make better decisions. I’ve just got to make shots.’’
According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Celtics, who had a 12-point lead going into the fourth quarter, have lost only one other playoff game when being in front by that many going after three quarters. They couldn’t hold a 16-point lead going into the fourth quarter in Game 4 of the 1973 Eastern Conference finals, losing to the New York Knicks.
Goran Dragic scored 29 points to lead the Heat, who are 9-1 in the playoffs. Former Celtics forward Jae Crowder made five 3-pointers and had 22 points while Butler finished with 20 points. Adebayo scored 18 and Tyler Herro had 12, including a pair of clutch 3-pointers near the end of regulation.
The Celtics were up, 110-106, early in OT but in the final 3:40, managed just a Brown tip-in and a Walker step-back over Herro with 23.2 seconds left that gave them a 114-113 advantage.
Butler then drove on Tatum and scored, adding a foul shot for the two-point lead. After Adebayo’s block and ensuing free throw, Tatum put up a desperation 3-pointer that missed at the buzzer.
The Celtics was tied at 106 after regulation with Butler putting the Heat ahead, 106-105, when he hit a corner 3-pointer with 22 seconds to go.
Derrick Jones Jr. was then inserted into the Miami lineup for defense, but he ran over Smart before the ball was inbounded, giving Tatum a free throw to tie the game.
The Celtics then ran the clock down, but a 3-pointer from the left by Tatum hit the front of the rim just before the buzzer.
The Celtics had held an 85-71 lead when Walker hit a stepback in the opening minute of the fourth quarter and they were in front, 92-82, with 8:19 left after a steal and layup by Wanamaker. But problems at the offensive end in addition to committing too many fouls and not getting back in transition allowed the Heat to rally.
"Fouls killed us and then our transition defense in addition to playing slower and pounding the ball more,’’ said coach Brad Stevens. "We’ve just got to be a lot better in all those areas. These games go back and forth like this. We’ve got to play better and transition defense really stands out.’’
With Walker struggling, Brown getting added attention and Tatum unable to deliver late, the Celtics offense was in trouble.
"Against a team like this, it’s going to take everybody,’’ said Smart. "We allowed them to set their defense and weren’t moving. We’ve got to really get it moving and have them playing on their heels.’’
The Heat went on an 8-2 run in less than two minutes in the fourth quarter to get to 94-90. They were behind, 101-95, after two Walker free throws with 3:36 left, but Herro hit a 3-pointer.
After Tatum set up Daniel Theis inside to give the Celtics a 103-98 lead, Adebayo hit two foul shots before Walker scored over Crowder on a drive to put the Celtics on top, 105-100, with 1:09 to go.
Herro hit another 3-pointer with 1:03 remaining and after a shot clock violation by the Celtics, Crowder made the 3-pointer to put Miami up for the only time in the quarter.
The Celtics tightened their defense in the third quarter after allowing 37 points on 68-percent shooting in the second quarter, and opened an 83-71 lead going into the final 12 minutes.
The Heat had their lowest scoring quarter of the postseason with 16 points, making just 6-of-20 shots, including 1 of 8 from 3-point range.
The Celtics finished the quarter on a 13-2 run in the last 2:20 after the Heat were within 70-69.
The first half, which ended tied at 55, included a first quarter that was carried by the Celtics and a second quarter owned by the Heat.
For the second time in three playoff games, the Celtics went to OT and lost, having dropped Game 6 to the Toronto Raptors in double overtime.
"We believe if we clean a couple of things up, if we can fix those things, it’ll be a different outcome,’’ said Smart. "You’ve got to tip your hat to those guys. They executed very well down the stretch; we didn’t, especially at the defensive end.’’
jfenton@enterprisenews.com
On Twitter at @JFenton_ent.