BOSTON — Heat forward Jimmy Butler was the undisputed best player in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, helping Miami strip the Celtics of their home-court advantage Wednesday night.
But Butler, who led all scorers with 35 points and drained the biggest shots in the most crucial moments, looked toward the Celtics after Boston’s 123-116 loss at TD Garden to recognize a fellow competitor, who like Butler, typically always leaves it all on the floor — Boston guard Marcus Smart.
“I got a lot of respect for that guy, for what he does on the defensive side of the ball,” Butler explained. “And for sure what he does on the offensive side of the ball because he plays both to a T. So we gonna have to lock in on that cause 10 (assists) at the half, is pretty good.”
To begin the night, Smart played the facilitator role with flying colors, dishing out 10 assists, while prioritizing Boston’s ball movement over his own scoring. This worked well despite Miami’s gritty ability to somehow always have an answer for the Celtics, regardless of how much Boston tried to widen the scoring gap. That was until the Heat, unlike the Celtics, treated the fourth quarter, like a fourth quarter.
Smart, like the Celtics, went ghost and wasn’t the same in the second half, finishing the night with 13 points and 11 assists.
“I think he played well all game long,” Butler said. “He was making all the right plays, he made a lot of shots, he defended incredibly well — made shots too.”
While in Butler’s eyes, Smart may have played “well,” it wasn’t enough to prevent the Celtics from failing yet again to capitalize and the Boston fans in attendance knew it. After the Heat piled on a 46-point third quarter to take a 12-point lead, the TD Garden crowd booed the C’s off the floor. Little did they know that their 7-0 run to open the fourth was merely a tease. They did it against the Atlanta Hawks and the Philadelphia 76ers, escaping in both instances, but neither team had Butler, who arguably has risen to the occasion better than any other player in the league.
Familiar with having to make up for their mistakes better than any other team of their caliber, the Celtics do have a shot at redemption in Game 2 on Friday night before the series heads to Miami.
