Tyler Herro sank six of Miami’s franchise playoff-record 23 3-pointers as the Heat evened their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with the Boston Celtics by earning a 111-101 road victory in Game 2 on Wednesday night.
Miami shot 23-for-43 from long distance, with Herro going 6-for-11 on 3-point tries en route to a team-high 24 points. Herro also had 14 assists.
Eighth-seeded Miami led 102-91 after Bam Adebayo made a hook shot with 4:12 to play, and top-seeded Boston failed to get closer than six points after that. The Heat outscored the Celtics 53-40 in the second half.
Adebayo had 21 points and 10 rebounds. Miami also received 21 points from Caleb Martin, who made 5 of 6 from 3-point range.
Boston’s Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 33 points, and Jayson Tatum finished with 28 points. Brown and Tatum each had eight rebounds.
The Celtics were limited to 12 3-point field goals (on 32 attempts) after they went 22-for-49 during their 114-94 victory in Game 1.
Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 14 points while Nilola Jovic finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis shot 1-for-9 from the field and finished with six points.
Miami led 28-27 after one quarter but trailed 61-58 at halftime. The Heat made 13 3-pointers (on 24 tries) in the first half.
The Heat had a five-point lead with 2:09 left in the half, but the Celtics closed the half on an 11-3 run. Brown scored all 11 Boston points in the sequence, during which he sank three consecutive 3-pointers. Neither team led bymore than six points in the first two quarters.
A 15-3 run put the Heat up 82-70 with 3:36 remaining in the third quarter. Miami was on top 85-79 entering the fourth.
Game 3 will be played Saturday in Miami.