National Basketball Association

Jimmy Butler scores 27, Miami beats Boston 111-105 to take 2-0 lead in East finals

Published May. 19, 2023 11:20 p.m. ET

Jimmy Butler scored 27 points, hitting a pair of buckets to give the Miami Heat the lead after they erased a double-digit, fourth-quarter deficit and Miami beat the Boston Celtics 111-105 on Friday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Bam Adebayo had 22 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists, and Caleb Martin came off the bench to score 25 points for eighth-seeded Miami, which won twice in Boston to earn a chance to complete the sweep at home.

Game 3 is Sunday.

Jayson Tatum had 34 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists for Boston. But the Celtics star went 0 for 2 with two turnovers in the fourth quarter, when Boston blew an 89-77 lead en route to a second home loss in three nights. Jaylen Brown scored 16 points on 7-for-23 shooting; he went 1 for 5 with a turnover in the final quarter, when Miami outscored Boston 36-22.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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