Jimmy Butler scored 27 points, hitting a pair of buckets to give the Heat the lead after they erased a double-digit, fourth-quarter deficit and Miami beat Boston 111-105 on Friday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
Bam Adebayo had 22 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists, and Caleb Martin came off the bench to score 25 points for eighth-seeded Miami, which won twice in Boston to earn a chance to complete the sweep at home.
Game 3 is Sunday.
Jimmy Butler leads the <a href=”https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@MiamiHEAT</a> to a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals!<br><br>27 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST, 3 STL, 2 BLK ????<br><br>Game 3: Sunday, 8:30 PM ET on TNT <a href=”https://t.co/fdbMIC5bt4″>pic.twitter.com/fdbMIC5bt4</a>
—@NBA
The Celtics led by 11 in the third quarter and made it a dozen early in the fourth. It was a 96-87 Boston lead when Butler scored, going forehead-to-forehead with Grant Williams before hitting the free throw to complete the three-point play.
Butler sneered at Williams’s attempt to get him off his game with words, and after Tatum missed from long distance, Butler drove to the basket to make it a four-point game.
Miami erased it.
Miami trailed 98-96 when Butler was called for an offensive foul, kicking Marcus Smart after landing on a missed three-pointer.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra challenged, but lost.
Butler responded.
He made a 17-footer to tie it 100-all, and then a short fadeaway to give Miami the lead. After Max Strus made one of two free throws, Adebayo scored on a putback dunk to make it 105-100 with less than a minute to play.
Boston used a 21-2 run to turn an eight-point, first-quarter deficit into an 11-point lead.
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