The Boston Celtics dug themselves too deep of a hole Wednesday night in Miami, and despite a valiant effort late in the fourth quarter, they couldn’t extend their win streak to 17 games after a 104-98 loss to the Heat.
Boston had overcome deficits of 10 or more in three straight games entering Wednesday. The C’s clawed back from deficits of 18 (twice), 17, 16 and 13 during the win streak, but Heat guards Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters, who combined for 53 points, were too much to handle late in the game.
The 16-game win streak is tied for the fourth-longest in team history. It included a nine-game road win streak (fifth-longest in franchise history). Wins over playoff-caliber opponents such as the Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Hornets and, yes, the Philadelphia 76ers also were highlights of the streak.
And while one streak ends, could another begin soon? Eleven of the Celtics’ next 17 games are against teams that missed last season’s NBA playoffs.
Here are some other notes from Celtics-Heat:
— Rookie forward Jayson Tatum scored 18 points, giving him double-digit scoring in seven straight games and 11 of his last 12. He also pulled down seven rebounds and dished out four assists. Tatum’s consistency has been very impressive. The former Duke star has scored 10-plus points in 16 of 19 games, and in two of those three games he was below 10 points he tallied nine and 11 rebounds.
— The Celtics bench continued to struggle against the Heat. The second unit shot just 32 percent (9-for-28), highlighted by lackluster performances from Marcus Smart (3-for-9) and Terry Rozier (2-for-8). Smart and Rozier hit just only two of their eight 3-pointers combined.
— Marcus Morris shot just 3-for-9 from the field, but he did a great job attacking the basket and drawing fouls, which helped put Boston in the penalty for a large portion of the second half. He made seven of his eight free throws and finished with 14 points. The veteran forward is averaging 13.6 points over his last eight games.
— Kyrie Irving led the C’s with 23 points on 11-for-22 shooting. He scored 366 points during the 16-game win streak and is averaging 28.2 points over the last five matchups.
— The Celtics had won eight games in a row versus the Heat and five straight in Miami entering Wednesday. The Celtics are 1-1 in Miami this season, and their final regular-season meeting with the Heat is Dec. 20 in Boston.
