The Celtics put together their second-biggest comeback of the season on Thursday night, rallying from a 19-point deficit to beat the Heat 119-114 in Miami. Boston got big performances from several reserves in the win, including a season-high 39 points from Anfernee Simons. The same can’t be said for the Miami Heat, who are dealing with some controversy after the defeat.
Second-year center Kel’el Ware was benched for the second half of the loss as the Celtics rallied from a double-digit deficit after playing nine first half minutes. He finished with three points and five rebounds in the defeat but was on the receiving end of some harsh criticism from Erik Spoelstra after the defeat in his postgame press conference.
“I mean, look at the game. It was one matchup after another,” Spoelstra told reporters in Miami about Ware’s minutes. “That’s a tough matchup for him. In Boston, with all the coverages and it was the same thing tonight. He just has to stay ready. With Kel’el, I know that’s a lightning rod topic. He needs to get back to where he was, seven, eight weeks ago where I and everybody in the building felt that he was stacking days, good days. He’s stacking days in the wrong direction now. He’s just got to get back to that. Stack days, build those habits, make sure you’re ready, and play the minutes you’re playing to a point where it makes me want to play you more.”
Spoelstra also made a stunning accusation towards Ware, who was removed from Miami’s starting five last week.
“I get it with some young players,” Spoelstra said. “Sometimes you subconsciously play poorly to say, ‘Hey, I’ll play poorly until you play me the minutes I think I deserve. Then I’ll play well.’ That’s not how it works.”
The move to go away from Ware did not work out well for Spoelstra as Miami’s bench combined for just 21 points with his minutes limited, being thoroughly outplayed by Boston’s reserves (56 points). The Celtics outscored the Heat 36-21 in the fourth quarter with Ware watching from the sidelines.
The Heat center has been a key contributor for Miami all season, averaging 11.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game but has not played over 20 minutes in a game since being demoted from the starting five. His situation is certainly one to monitor heading into the trade deadline on Feb. 5.
The Celtics improved to 2-0 against the Heat this season with the win and will next face Ware and the Heat on Feb. 6 in Boston.