Tatum unstoppable in tough loss to Boston

The Miami Heat fought till the very end, but they just didn't have enough fire power to keep up with Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics in this 134-121 loss in TD Garden. There are no such thing as moral victories when your team is under .500 at this point of the season, but this was pretty close. The team was missing Jimmy Butler and Tatum completely dominated, but this team was resilient and was able to stay within striking distance till the very end.

The start of this game was pretty incredible too if you stayed to watch. The Miami Heat got off to a rough start as they found themselves down 20-6 in the first four minutes of the game. The Boston Celtics were absolutely clicking offensively as they made their first seven shots and it looked like we had a long night ahead of us. Miami quickly changed the script as they answered with a 21-5 run of their own to get back in the game. From that point on it was an offensive slugfest and one of the most entertaining games of the season.

A lot of players stepped up for the Heat in this one, but no one had as big of an impact than Bam Adebayo. Which at this point has to be expected because it feels like he's taken it upon himself to have bigger responsibilities in this offense. He's looking for his shot at a career-high clip and attacking mismatches much more efficiently than he had in previous years. Tonight was no different as he had 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting including his first three of the season to go with six rebounds, five assists and two steals. His five turnovers aren't great, but we will live with it when we are getting this level of aggression on a nightly basis. He is a smart player and has never been known to be turnover prone, so I expect that to get better as he continues this leap.

Seven different players scored in double figures for Miami and in all honesty their defense wasn't terrible either. The main reason they lost is because they ran into a team that is on a historic offensive pace. They currently have the highest offensive rating in NBA history as they lead the league in FG% (49.8), 3P% (40.8) and FT% (85.3). That was once again on display tonight spearheaded by Tatum's 49 points on 15-of-25 shooting and 8-of-12 from three to go with 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals. There was nothing Miami could do to stop him and a lot of that can be contributed to Butler being out, but Tatum is also at the top of his game this season. Whether it was from beyond the arc or in the paint Tatum got the shot he wanted when he wanted. He didn't do it alone either as six other Celtics scored from deep and made it impossible to send a double his way. There is a reason they are at the top of the conference at this current moment and we saw it in this game.

Miami got production from their supporting cast as well with Tyler Herro finished with 22 points, nine assists and four rebounds and showed how important he was to this offense. He was doing a great job of mixing up his playmaking and shot creation to have a pretty efficient night. His defense still needs work, but he's doing what we need on the offensive side of the ball and his chemistry with Bam is no joke. Max Strus kept the Heat alive in the 3rd quarter as he scored 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from deep in the period. Without his sharpshooting Miami wouldn't have been around to make this a game in the fourth quarter. Same could be said about the leadership of Kyle Lowry, who didn't have the best night as he had 14 points, five assists and four rebounds, but his ability to keep the team organized and level headed in a hostile environment was essential. Haywood Highsmith was a big surprise in this one as he was starting to hit his outside shot. Finished 4-of-6 from deep and 6-of-9 overall for 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Just a huge game from him and hopefully something he can build off of moving forward. With his size and two-way potential he can become an asset nobody was expecting.

This game came down to the very end and even though our team didn't come out on top this time we have another chance coming up on Friday. It is possible we get Jimmy back for this one. This will give the Heat a much better chance of covering Tatum and making life a little difficult on the court. Only time will tell, but I expect to see another great game.