The Miami Heat failed to close out their best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals series with the Boston Celtics by dropping Game 4 at Kaseya Center on Tuesday night.
The Celtics outscored the Heat by 23 points in the second half, and Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra credited Boston for having the ability to focus on their game plan and shoot 40% from the 3-point line.
“I did feel like they got some clean looks. Definitely, cleaner looks than they got in the first two games,” Spoelstra told reporters, per league-provided video. “But you have to give them credit. I mean, that’s who they’ve been all season long. So, it takes extraordinary efforts and focus and commitment, to be in the right spot and to get them off the line but also make those second, third, fourth, fifth efforts whatever’s necessary to get it done.”
With the C’s finding their game, Spoelstra noted that Miami couldn’t find a rhythm offensively and defensively couldn’t contain Jayson Tatum.
“You’re not expecting a great player like Tatum to have multiple off nights,” Spoelstra said. “You have to do things that will exceed it. And if guys bring their A game, we’ve proven that we can still win, you know, regardless, I just don’t think that we made those necessary efforts, focus.
“It wasn’t all just lack of effort. It was all being on the same page defensively when we’re at our best, really disrupting the timing and rhythm even against great offensive and great offensive players. … We were a little stagnant offensively; that kind of led to a lot of that — lack of flow, on both ends.”
Spoelstra said despite not being able to close out the series at home, he is not concerned about the players losing their focus or determination to advance to the finals.
“This is a great competition. Sometimes that can get skewed because of the 3-0, but we have great respect for Boston,” Spoelstra said. “What they’re capable of, They’re a dynamic offensive team. It takes extraordinary efforts and commitment to get the job done. Guys really want this. But Boston has something to say about it as well, just like we do.”
The Heat will look to move on from Game 4 and prepare for the next opportunity to eliminate the Celtics on Thursday night at TD Garden.
“Sometimes things don’t go exactly as planned,” Spoelstra explained. “A lot of what we’ve done this year has been the hard way and we’ve been able to figure out ways to win even if teams are playing well, if we’re not in a perfect flow. They got us tonight. You have to give them credit for that. There’s no doubt about it. There’s no questioning it. There’s not we’re not wondering about that. And they deserve to win. Tonight. We know we have to regroup and get ready for a great opportunity in Boston.”
