In the end Boston's stupidity did them in. The Heat built that big lead and never gave it up because the Celtics were too stubborn to try something else besides drive and kick 3-pointers.
They started off shooting something like 3-25 from 3-point range before they finally heated up just a little in the 2nd half, but by then Miami had already built a nice cushion thanks to all those Boston bricks.
I don't understand why some of these teams hate taking mid-range jumpers. When the Heat went into a zone defense Horford passed up at least wide 8 WIDE open 10-15 foot jumpers from the paint area. Instead of catching and shooting he'd either dribble himself into trouble or kick it out to a teammate for a 3-point attempt that they'd brick. He wasn't the only Celtic passing up good looks from mid-range. It was if they all took a blood oath to avoid mid-range shots at all costs.
If they'd have taken those easier shots instead of settling for threes, the Heat probably don't build that massive 1st half lead.
In the end I'm glad the Heat won because I hate seeing incompetence be rewarded.
To be honest, Tatum, Brown and Horford are the only players with a mid-range game. Tatum was toast after he rolled his ankle and Brown couldn't help but be the bumbling idiot we saw in last year's finals. Guys like Smart, White, Williams are all spot up shooters and slashers. Brown does a nice job working the mid-range usually, but as I alluded to in a previous post, he tends to start well and then lose steam in games. Same thing happened last night and then he started to press and just turn it over completely.
Their biggest problem is the coach needs to shut them down when the 3's aren't falling. But Mazzulla won't do that. He encourages it.