BSJ Game Report: Celtics 119, Heat 114 - Simons' historic heater leads big comeback

Everything you need to know about the Celtics' win over the Heat, with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics came out sluggish and fell behind by 19, but Anfernee Simons got hot to cut it to 11 after 12 minutes. They snipped one off that at halftime, and it stayed at 10 thanks in large part to Simons and second chances. Simons saved the best for last, pouring in 18 in the fourth to complete Boston’s comeback. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Holy Simons! His 39 points off the bench were a team record, and he was there every step of the way as the starters flubbed and fumbled their way through the game. The start to this game was beyond awful, but Simons came in and settled things down every time he checked in. 

- Second chances: Boston won the second chance points 31-7, thanks to Jordan Walsh, Luka Garza, and others crashing the boards. A lot of what Simons was able to do was because of second-chance opportunities. 

- A clutch win: Hey, the Celtics came back, made plays, and closed a team out in the clutch! They didn’t turn it over at all in the fourth, they grabbed four offensive rebounds, and they went a perfect 8-8 from the line. This ended up being their second-biggest comeback of the season, and fourth-biggest of the Joe Mazzulla era.

TURNING POINT 

The Celtics out-scored the Heat 19-7 to start the fourth quarter and take a lead for the first time since 4-3 early in the first quarter. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Anfernee Simons: He was so good that Miami started blitzing him late in the game, which worked out perfectly for Boston because the Heat willingly put themselves into rotation with Boston’s best players, making passes to each other. Simons even had Jaylen Brown setting picks for him so he could attack the matchups he wanted. 

- Sam Hauser: He was responsible for Boston’s first lead, 4-3, and then he hit the shot that gave Boston their next lead, 101-100. Hauser did a bit of everything on his way to 17 points, three assists, three rebounds, and a steal. 

“He knows players' tendencies and can take them away in real time,” Mazzulla told reporters in Miami. “He's physical, much more physical than people think, and he's versatile. We had him on the point guard tonight, we had him on the five. He's just more than, obviously, a shooter, but again, another complete guy that takes pride in his defense.”

Of all the things he did, hanging in the air for a tip-in was my favorite: 

- Luka Garza: He did his usual thing, getting offensive rebounds and tipping them home. 

He also set a bunch of strong screens that freed up scorers, and he used his screening to ultimately open up room for himself when defenses got confused, and he was able to pop open for 3. 

- Jordan Walsh: This was one of the best games you’ll see from a guy who took two shots. His defense was strong, including this incredible chase-down block. 

And he was a beast on the boards, splitting his eight evenly between offensive and defensive rebounds. He was part of a lineup that included Hugo Gonzalez that just made a big positive impact without putting up a ton of statistics. 

- Jaylen Brown’s third quarter: I’ll get to the other stuff later, but he shook off a rough start to the game and put up 15 in the third. The Celtics needed that from him on a night he admitted he was “a little sluggish … a step slow.” 

- Derrick White: I’m not going to say I was thrilled with his performance, but I will say he found his way to a bunch of positive things on a night where his offense wasn’t always there. He was a perfect 6-6 from the line, which is only the eighth time this season he took six or more free throws in a game. He also finished with six rebounds, five assists, and two blocks. One of those was a massive block on Norm Powell late in the game. 

He was +12, which was really impressive because he was -7 in the first half and -3 heading into the fourth quarter. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Guarding Bam Adebayo: They did a better job of it in the second half, but he was a huge reason why the Celtics were getting crushed early on. He still ended up +13 for the game, which was a testament to how tough a time Boston had guarding him. They found some success with some of their wings taking a turn on him at times. 

- Payton Pritchard: A rough night for him against Miami’s size. He sat out the whole fourth quarter, mostly because the Celtics went with Simons the whole quarter and most of the second half. 

- Jaylen Brown’s first half: I don’t know if this was a case of the Miami flu or what, but Brown was awful in the first half. I was happy to see him read the room in the fourth and not try to big-time Simons, because he didn’t deserve to close things out the way his game started and how Simons’ roll was going. 

- This foul call: Okay, I guess it’s my turn to complain about the refs, but honestly, this is ridiculous. 

It ended up being two penalty free throws instead of a shooting foul, but the only thing that should come out of this play is a flopping fine. The official who made this call needs a talking-to.

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- I hope Jayson Tatum was watching that fourth quarter closely. 

Brown was asked about stepping aside in the fourth to let Simons cook. 

“I've done that my whole career,” he said. “I've played alongside Jayson Tatum. So you know, that's nothing new.” 

I honestly couldn't tell if there was a little shade in that quote, and if there was, who it was directed towards. 

Regardless, I hope Tatum was paying close attention, because there will be times moving forward that Brown is on a heater and Tatum will need to be the one setting screens for Jaylen. This should be a pay-it-forward situation somewhere down the line.  

Brown is setting a standard here, and this situation smacked of “treat others how you want to be treated.” If Brown has a game somewhere down the line where he’s the clear savior and Tatum just isn’t feeling it, then Brown is going to expect to be given the same chance Simons got in this game. 

So tuck this away. I feel like it’s going to come up again someday … even if that day happens next season. 

Next Up: The Celtics' road trip continues in Atlanta on Saturday.