Morning Sports Update

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra credited Celtics’ ‘exceptional level of shot-making’

"This is going to sound crazy, but this is different than the other games we’re talking about."

Erik Spoelstra Heat Celtics
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra during a game in March. AP Photo/Nell Redmond

By Hayden Bird

3 minutes to read

Heat coach’s take on the Celtics: Following the Celtics‘ clobbering of the Heat on Wednesday — a 147-129 win that was spurred by a 53-point first quarter deluge — Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra sounded off about his team’s defensive performance in the postgame press conference.

Surprisingly, despite the team’s recent struggles on defense (Miami is 2-8 in its last 10 games), Spoelstra didn’t take as much of an issue with his own squad.

“This is going to sound crazy, but this is different than the other games we’re talking about,” Spoelstra told reporters. “Our guys were locked in and competing. There was an exceptional level of shot-making on their part to start the game. There’s probably a handful we could’ve been stronger on-balance to take away some of the 3s.”

Boston’s first quarter eruption (a team record for first quarters) was predicated around another standout performance from Jaylen Brown, as well as players like Sam Hauser (who went 5-for-5 from 3-point range during the opening quarter).

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Beyond that, Spoelstra noted how the Celtics — a team that often defines its offense with 3-pointers — actually excelled in the game from inside the arc. Boston hit just under 60 percent of its shots inside the 3-point line, while Miami mustered a rate of just 41.7 percent.

“They shot a remarkable percentage,” Spoelstra said of the 2-pointers. “It just felt like they didn’t miss any pull-up jump shots from the areas that you would like teams shooting from.

“They just made a high volume and high efficiency of shooting of right in that area,” he added. “The area that everybody talks about. The two-point percentages between the two teams were a big difference.”

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Trivia: The Celtics scored 53 points in the first quarter on Wednesday, the second-most points scored in any quarter of any NBA game in team history. The most points Boston has scored in a quarter was 54, which came in a 147-124 win over the San Diego Rockets in Feb. 1970. Can you name the player who led the Celtics in points that day?

(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: He has the second-most career wins as an NBA head coach in history.

More from Boston.com:

Brady sighting: Former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was court-side for the Celtics’ Wednesday night win.

A unusual development: During the middle of a Florida-Stetson softball matchup on Wednesday, players, coaches, and fans all stopped for a moment to watch the Artemis II NASA rocket launch.

On this day: In 1978, the Bruins defeated the Rangers 8-3 thanks to Wayne Cashman’s four-goal effort. Elsewhere, the Celtics lost to officially miss out on the playoffs, and Luis Tiant tried to prepare himself for Red Sox season.

Boston Globe Sports Bruins Celtics 1978

Daily highlight: One of the defining “Derrick White” plays of the season, in which the versatile Celtic showcased his ability to make winning plays on both ends of the floor.

Trivia answer: Don Nelson

Hayden Bird

Sports Staff

Hayden Bird is a sports staff writer for Boston.com, where he has worked since 2016. He covers all things sports in New England.

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