Numerous Miami Heat players — including Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyler Herro and Nikola Jovic — have been on the receiving end of criticism after they were spotted at a nightclub in Boston following the team’s loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of Miami’s first-round playoff series.
While many took issue with the development, not everyone did.
The Heat — who were without Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier — lost to the Celtics by 20 points in Sunday’s Game 1. Miami felt the absences of Butler and Rozier on offense, considering the team managed to score just 94 points against Boston. Bam Adebayo was the lone player on the Heat to finish with 20 or more points.
Adebayo totaled 24 points, six rebounds and three assists while shooting 10-of-18 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Miami also had a hard time getting stops against a Boston team that is replete with talented offensive players and 3-point shooters. The Celtics knocked down a whopping 22 3-pointers on 49 attempts, and all eight players on the team who appeared in the game buried at least one triple.
Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White and Sam Hauser each converted a team-high four shots from deep.
Game 2 of the Heat-Celtics series — which is a rematch of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals — will take place on Wednesday night in TD Garden.
The Heat will try to even up the series at one game apiece before the series heads to Miami for Games 3 and 4, and in order to pick up a win against a Celtics team that has been dominant at home all season, Miami will likely need Tyler Herro to improve upon his performance from the opening game of the series.
Celtics guard Jrue Holiday deserves credit for making Herro’s life difficult on the offensive end. The Heat guard finished with just 11 points on 13 shots from the floor. Remember, during the 2023-24 regular season, Herro ended up tied with Butler for the highest scoring average on the entire team, as he averaged 20.8 points per contest in his fifth season with the Heat.