BOSTON — The Celtics were two completely different teams against the Heat, and it cost them Game 1 of their Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday night at TD Garden.
Working with home-court advantage, the Celtics were showered with boos after letting the Heat pour 46 points in the third quarter. It wasn’t the first time Boston held the C’s accountable for their lackluster play, but this time it sparked a fuse as the fourth quarter was opened with a 7-0 run, which was full of the exact energy and intensity that was missing after halftime.
But that switch didn’t stay on long enough as the Heat pulled away with a 123-116 victory, leaving Boston full of regret.
“Our intensity wasn’t where it needed to be,” Brown felt after the 123-116 loss.
The Celtics shot just 2-of-8 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter, miserably failing to find a basket when needed. Miami, on the other hand, won that race with Caleb Martin burying a 23-foot jumper to put Miami up 117-110 with 2:10 left in the contest, enough to send the game into a final score and Celtics fans exiting TD Garden in disappointment.
Brown, who scored 22 points in 39 minutes, took full accountability on behalf of the Celtics. Similar to Marcus Smart’s postgame takeaway, Brown believed the C’s fell into a lackadaisical collapse at the worst possible time, giving the Heat an open window to swipe home-court advantage from the palm of their hands.
“It’s a choice, it’s a decision,” Brown explained. “Just come out and play with a different mentality. I mean, we came out too cool, like it was just almost like we was playing a regular-season game. It’s the Eastern Conference finals, like, come on. We gotta play with more intensity than we did today and we just gotta be better, including me.”
Falling short like they did to begin their conference semifinal battle with the Philadelphia 76ers, the Celtics have their shot at redemption in Game 2 to even up the series on Friday night.
