Celtics Wrap: Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum Can’t Propel Boston Past Heat

The Boston Celtics made a pair of second-half runs, but couldn’t overcome an underwhelming second quarter, all while going scoreless for three minutes during crunch time.

The end result? A 112-106 loss to the fourth-seeded Miami Heat, who now are a mere 1 1/2 games behind the Celtics for the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed.

Boston had trouble making the most of its offensive trips against the Miami zone defense, shooting 43 percent from the floor (37-for-85).

Jayson Tatum led all scorers with 23 points on 6-for-11 from the floor while Jaylen Brown showcased impressive stretches as he finished with 18 points on 9-for-23 from the field. Brown added 10 rebounds to his stat line, the only Celtic to record a double-double.

Gordon Hayward (15), Kemba Walker (15), Daniel Theis (11) and Enes Kanter (10) all scored double figures. Walker, who continues to recover from a knee injury, played 27 minutes.

The Celtics moved to 44-23 with the loss, while the Heat advanced to 43-25 with the victory.

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Here’s how it all went down.

STARTING FIVE
PG: Kemba Walker
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Gordon Hayward
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Daniel Theis

DECENT START
The Celtics got off to a good-not-great start against the Heat, trailing 33-28 after the first quarter after Miami had taken a 10-point lead midway through the quarter.

Walker was creating, Theis was finishing.

Hayward was creating, Hayward was finishing.

Then there was Brown, who was going at the rim with no remorse.

And Tatum clearly didn’t want to be left out either, finishing on a traditional three-point play after a smooth take to the basket.

FALLING BEHIND
The Celtics fell behind by as many as 16 points in the second quarter before closing the gap to 63-51 at intermission.

Hayward showed both strength and tenacity on this second-quarter drive.

Heat big man Bam Adebayo (team-high 21 points) was a major reason behind the second-quarter surge, coupled with the fact Miami converted on 10 3-pointers in the first half (41 percent at half). Miami shot 34 percent from long range during the contest.

Tyler Herro had three of them before intermission.

https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1290792642083725314

The Celtics shot 30 percent from behind the arc.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU
Boston stormed back in the third behind the two-way play of Brown and the rest of the Celtics defense.

The Celtics, at one point, went on an extended 15-1 run, cutting their deficit to just four points midway through the quarter.

Tatum hit a crucial 3-pointer during the run, as well.

The Celtics ultimately cut their deficit to 69-68 with 6:14 left in the quarter, but the Heat went on a run of their own — 14-2 — over the next three-plus minutes.

Hayward was rung up with just his third-ever technical foul with 5:36 left in what was a three-point game.

Marcus Smart fouled out with 3:46 left in the third, making matters all the more worse for the Celtics, who needed as much defensive help as they could get.

The Celtics did cut it to single digits, 91-83, after a half-court buzzer beater by Walker at the end of the third.

FINAL RUN NOT ENOUGH
Going with a lineup of Brad Wanamaker, Brown, Romeo Langford, Semi Ojeleye and Enes Kanter in the opening minutes of the fourth, the Celtics cut a 10-point lead to six before a Miami timeout with 9:21 left.

Miami’s Goran Dragic hit a pair of tough jumpers to extend the Heat’s lead to 98-89, but the Boston starters checked back in with the game still separated by seven points.

Brown, Hayward and Tatum each took turns attacking the rim before a Theis transition slam to cut the C’s lead to 102-98.

The Heat, however, went on an 8-0 run after the dunk as the Celtics went without a made basket for more than three minutes in crunch time.

PLAY OF THE GAME
Brown forced a Miami turnover on the defensive end and then took it coast-to-coast with a nice hesitation move at the top of the key allowing him to get by ex-Boston Celtic Jae Crowder on the way to the rim.

He showed an emphatic reaction on the dunk, too.

UP NEXT
The Celtics return to the floor Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET against the Brooklyn Nets.

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