The Miami Heat evened out their first-round series against the Celtics with a shocking 111-101 victory over in Boston on Wednesday night. Not many fans saw this Game 2 result coming, as the Heat were 14.5-point underdogs at tip-off. But Shaquille O’Neal made a surprisingly accurate prediction.
“Miami by 10 tonight,” Shaq said ahead of the game during NBA on TNT.
Charles Barkley disagreed and said he would bet against him. Heat star Jimmy Butler is currently out with an MCL injury he suffered during their Play-In Tournament loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. He is not expected to return for the first round series, but O’Neal — a Hall of Famer who played for both the Heat and Celtics during his 19-year NBA career — was still not doubting one of his former teams.
Despite Boston entering halftime with a 61-58 advantage, O’Neal’s opinion remained unchanged and he even told Barkley he would double the bet.
“Jimmy is not there so they definitely have to spread the love,” O’Neal said. “Look, (the Heat) are shooting the ball great… They are going to continue shooting and they are going to steal this game. With Boston, they live by the tree and they die by the three.”
On Wednesday, Miami was the hotter team. The Heat got 62% of their points from 3-point range by going 23-for 43. That is the most 3-pointers ever for Miami in a postseason game.
O’Neal was also right about spreading the love. All five Miami starters scored in double figures. Tyler Herro led the winning offense with 24 points, which included six 3-pointers. He also completed a double-double with 14 assists. Bam Adebayo and Caleb Martin contributed with 21 points each, with Adebayo also adding 10 rebounds. Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic put up 14 and 11 points, respectively.
