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Miami Heat stuns Boston Celtics, Thunder destroys Pelicans in NBA playoffs | Basketball News

Heat made a franchise playoff record 23 3-pointers against the top seed from the East, while the Thunder destroyed the Pelicans in the West.

The Miami Heat unleashed a barrage of three-pointers and pulled off a 111-101 upset in the NBA Eastern Conference playoff duel, defeating the top-seeded Boston Celtics.

Eighth-seeded Miami, playing without the injured Jimmy Butler, put in a spirited performance on Wednesday, leveling the best-of-seven series at 1-1 as the teams returned to Florida for game three on Saturday.

Tyler Herro led Miami scoring with 24 points, part of a balanced offensive performance that saw all five Heat starters score in double figures.

But the key to Miami's victory was their accuracy from distance: The Heat made 23 three-pointers on 43 attempts, while Boston made 12 of 32.

Herro knocked down six three-pointers while Caleb Martin added five to his tally of 21 points.

Bam Adebayo also finished with 21 points, while Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 14 and Nikola Jovic 11.

Boston, meanwhile, led Jaylen Brown with 33 points, while Jayson Tatum suffered a defeat with 28 points.

The win was all the more unexpected considering Miami beat Boston by 20 points in Game 1 on Sunday – something Herro said motivated the Heat heading into Game 2.

“We lost badly in the first game and everyone responded tonight and that’s all you can ask from a group of guys,” Herro said afterward.

It was another trademark display of defiance from Miami, which is looking to emulate its playoff run last season, when it reached the NBA Finals after reaching the postseason via the play-in tournament.

“We don’t even want to mention last year, this year is a brand new year,” Herro said.

Boston star Tatum, meanwhile, said the Celtics expected a backlash after their comfortable win in Game 1.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Tatum said.

“There is a long history between these two franchises, especially recently.

“Regardless of the seeding or who's in or out – it's the playoffs…we have a chance to play again on Saturday – it should be a fun game.”

Oklahoma City Thunder 124-9 New Orleans Pelicans

While the top seeds in the Eastern Conference had to lick their wounds, Boston's Western Conference counterpart, Oklahoma City, had no such problems.

The number one seed Thunder took a commanding 2-0 lead in their first round series against the number eight seed New Orleans Pelicans with an impressive 124-92 victory.

The Thunder took the lead early in the first quarter and were in full control the entire time. They had a double-digit lead starting in the second quarter, reaching 34 points at one point toward the end of the fourth quarter.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the scoring for Oklahoma City, scoring 33 points on 13 of 19 field shots.

Chet Holmgren added 26 points while Jalen Williams contributed 21. Luguentz Dort added 15 points, including four three-pointers.

The result was in stark contrast to the first game, which came down to the final minute before Oklahoma City prevailed 94-92 on Sunday.

“Within a seven-game series, we just have to take it day by day and try to get better every day,” Gilgeous-Alexander said afterwards.

“And I think we did that tonight. We definitely performed better than in the first game and that is our goal. So we’ll take it.”

The series now heads to game three in New Orleans on Saturday.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates after scoring against the New Orleans Pelicans in Game 2 of the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs [Alonzo Adams/USA Today Sports via Reuters]

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