Inside The Celtics

Celtics win over Heat could have been "different," says Bam Adebayo

Sam LaFrance

Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo defends Kristaps Porzingis of the Boston Celtics.
Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo defends Kristaps Porzingis of the Boston Celtics. / Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics kicked off their playoff run with a wire-to-wire win over the Miami Heat in Sunday's Game 1.

Boston was able to pull ahead early, ripping off a quick 14-0 run in the opening minutes. After that, they were able to keep Miami at a distance and wound up taking the series opener with ease.

Heat center Bam Adebayo believes the game could have been "different" had the Cs not gotten off to such a quick start.

"I feel like it's a different ball game if they don't get off to a hot start at the beginning. You know, like you said, we went on a run in the fourth," Adebayo told reporters (h/t CLNS Media). "But, if that start doesn't happen, if there's a ball in the air or a ball on the floor and we get those 50-50 balls, it's a different ballgame."

Miami couldn't miss for the majority of the fourth quarter. There was a point where they had made 13-of-14 attempts from the field. Boston's defense definitely wasn't playing up to standard, as they had internally decided that the game was safe, but the Heat did what they could to cut into the lead.

Celtics Head Coach Joe Mazzulla felt that his team should've been able to control a lot of the things that had gone wrong while Miami had their push. Mazzulla explained that got sloppy in the final frame.

“Well, we had four turnovers and then had seven in the fourth quarter, so I would say that points off turnovers [led to that]," he said (h/t CLNS Media). "Six points on off-ball defense communication, and some of them, they made some shots there. So, I would say 70/30 we can control.”

Adebayo will get a chance to see if the Heat can make things different when they take the floor for Game 2 in Boston on Wednesday night.

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Sam LaFrance
SAM LAFRANCE