Boston Celtics prove they are ‘one of the tougher teams’ in Heat beatdown

There was another meltdown in Miami in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, but this time it was the Boston Celtics torching the Heat 127-102 to tie up the series 1-1.

After falling behind 18-8 in the first quarter, the Celtics put on a show, outscoring Miami by 35 points the rest of the way as the team was on fire from beyond and kept the defensive energy flowing throughout the night.

Led by the hot shooting of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, the Celtics not only got back in the game early but put their foot on the pedal and never lead up as the team led by over 30 points on a few occasions on the night.

Boston Celtics display toughness against the Miami Heat in Game 2

While the night was about hot shooting, it was really Boston’s resiliency and toughness that was on display in South Beach.  Beyond the return of Smart and Al Horford, which was monumental for the Celtics, it was the team once again responding following a loss in these playoffs as highlighted by Celtics head coach Ime Udoka following the game.

"“If a team is just going to come out and out-hustle you, there wasn’t a lot of things schematically that they did different,” Udoka said, via Masslive.com.  “We could match that intensity.  We pride ourselves on being one of the tougher teams, so we knew if we matched that we’d be in good shape tonight.  Not much needed to be said. Everybody saw it.”"

The offensive explosion was not only about that toughness Udoka outlined, but it was also about ball movement, team defense and having that trust in one another that turned the Boston Celtics from a mediocre mess in the first half of the 2021-22 NBA season to championship contending team in the second half of the season.

Sparked by the return of Marcus Smart, the Celtics displayed an energy that shifted back in their direction the moment Jaylen Brown hit his first two threes on the night and Jayson Tatum showed early he was going to be the best player on the court.  That is what stars and leaders do, that is what championship caliber teams do.

You know what else they do?

They frustrated the opposing team’s best player.  After putting up a 40-point performance in Game 1, Jimmy Butler wasn’t getting his way in Game 2 and that was due to the Celtics’ defense, that same defense that made Kevin Durant look human in the first series against the Brooklyn Nets and made Giannis Antetokounmpo have to do everything himself against the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round matchup.

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Yes, Butler still scored a team-high 29 points, but the Celtics limited his supporting cast and now the Heat star must find a way to get others involved because when the C’s have everything going, they showed last night that they will be a tough team to beat by a one-man show.

"“I don’t like to move on from this because it has to hurt,” Butler said following the game.  They tried to embarrass us.  They did embarrass us.  So, I think we got to realize that, use it as fuel, whatever you want to say, but realize the game can get out of hand when you’re playing against a really good team like them that can score the ball and get stops.”"

In bouncing back from that disastrous third quarter in Game 1, Tatum, Brown and the Boston Celtics now have Butler and the Heat searching for answers.  The challenge now is to keep the intensity up because good teams also respond, especially when they are fueled by embarrassment.