Heat scored a franchise playoff record 23 3-pointers against the Eastern top seed, as Thunder sank Pelicans in the West.

The Miami Heat unleashed a barrage of three-pointers to score a series-levelling 111-101 upset over the top-seeded Boston Celtics in their NBA Eastern Conference playoff duel.

Eighth-seeded Miami, playing without the injured Jimmy Butler, produced a battling performance on Wednesday to tie the best-of-seven series at 1-1 as the teams head back to Florida for game three on Saturday.

Tyler Herro led the Miami scoring with 24 points, part of a balanced offensive effort that saw all five Heat starters post double-digit points.

But the key to the Miami victory was their accuracy from long range, with the Heat draining 23 three-pointers from 43 attempts compared with Boston’s 12 of 32.

Herro knocked down six threes while Caleb Martin added five to his tally of 21 points.

Bam Adebayo also finished with 21 points while Jaime Jaquez Jr added 14 and Nikola Jovic 11.

#HEATWin Final (Game 2) – Miami 111, Boston 101

🔥 Herro: 24pts, 14ast, 5reb, 6 3PM
🔥 Adebayo: 21pts, 10reb
🔥 Martin: 21pts, 5 3PM
🔥 Jaquez Jr.: 14pts, 3 3PM
🔥 Jović: 11pts, 9reb, 6ast, 3stl, 3 3PM pic.twitter.com/xXcTmtX8UF

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 25, 2024

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Boston, meanwhile, were led by 33 points from Jaylen Brown, with Jayson Tatum finishing with 28 in a losing effort.

The win was all the more unexpected given Miami’s 20-point drubbing by Boston in game one on Sunday – something Herro said had motivated the Heat for game two.

“We lost badly in game one and everybody responded tonight, and that’s all you can ask for from a group of guys,” Herro said afterwards.

It was another trademark display of defiance from Miami, who are aiming to emulate their playoff run of last season when they reached the NBA Finals after entering the postseason via the play-in tournament.

“We don’t even want to mention last year, this year is a whole new year,” Herro said.

Boston star Tatum, meanwhile, said the Celtics had expected a backlash after their comfortable game one victory.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Tatum said.

“There’s a lot of history between these two franchises, especially recently.

“Regardless of seeding or who’s in or who’s out – it’s the playoffs … we’ve got a chance to play another one on Saturday – should be a fun one.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shows full command of the floor and leads the @okcthunder to a 2-0 series lead!

Chet Holmgren: 26 PTS (9-13 FGM), 3 3PM, 7 REB
Jalen Williams: 21 PTS, 5 REB, 7 AST
Lu Dort: 15 PTS, 4 3PM

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Game 3: Saturday, 3:30pm/et on TNT pic.twitter.com/K5Cah3xmsL

— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2024

Oklahoma City Thunder 124-9 New Orleans Pelicans

While the Eastern Conference top seeds were left licking their wounds, there were no such problems for Boston’s Western Conference counterparts Oklahoma City.

The number one ranked Thunder took a commanding 2-0 lead in their first-round series against the eighth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans with an emphatic 124-92 thrashing.

The Thunder took the lead early in the first quarter and were in complete control throughout, holding a double-digit advantage from the second quarter onwards which reached 34 points at one stage late in the fourth quarter.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the scoring for Oklahoma City, finishing with 33 points from 13-of-19 shooting from the field.

Chet Holmgren added 26 points while Jalen Williams chipped in with 21. Luguentz Dort added 15 points including four three-pointers.

The result was in stark contrast to game one, which went down to the wire before Oklahoma City prevailed 94-92 on Sunday.

“Within a seven-game series, we’ve just got to take it day by day and try to get better every day,” Gilgeous-Alexander said afterwards.

“And I think that’s what we did tonight. We definitely had a better performance than we did in game one and that’s our goal. So we’ll take it.”

The series now heads to game three in New Orleans on Saturday.

BOSTON — The Celtics didn’t do themselves any favors on Wednesday night, dropping Game 2 in a shocking 111-101 loss at TD Garden.

With the loss, Boston’s knotted up at 1-1 with Miami.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Boston came out swinging and so did Miami.

Before the Eastern Conference foes met at center court, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra explained how it’d be up to Miami to find ways to compete with the elite (and healthy) Celtics offense. That hunt was successful in the first half as the Heat discovered their hot hand from three, shooting 13-of-24, but still trailing Boston 61-58 entering the third quarter.

Jaylen Brown’s solo 11-3 run to end the first half proved one thing: Miami can knock down threes at a high rate at any given point, but if the Heat don’t defend, it won’t bridge the talent gap keeping them at bay from the Celtics.

Miami’s Caleb Martin, who threw himself at the center of the Game 1 controversy, played the villain’s role again. Martin filled a scoring (21 points) and toughness void that was missing from Miami to start the series, eliminating any chance of Boston easy-breezing its way to a win. Miami took its first lead of the series after failing to do so once in Game 1 and ran with the confidence it produced.

Meanwhile, the Celtics didn’t have an easy time matching the Heat in the physicality department. Boston didn’t have it last season when it came to Miami and the postseason, and even with the awareness of its importance, the Celtics still flopped when the going got rough.

Boston’s biggest lead (6) never matched Miami’s (12).

STARS OF THE GAME
— Brown led the Celtics with a game-high 33 points, shooting 13-of-22 with seven rebounds, one steal and one block.

— Miami’s Tyler Herro came through with a stellar double-double performance, scoring 20 points while logging 14 assists.

— Jayson Tatum flirted with a double-double of his own, scoring 26 points while grabbing eight rebounds for the Celtics.

UP NEXT
Having failed to protect its home-court advantage, Boston will pack up and fly to Miami to continue the best-of-seven duel in Game 3 on Saturday night. Tip-off from Kaseya Center is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.

Facing a financial crisis, WBUR has announced that Boston’s NPR station is laying off seven employees and 24 others are taking buyouts.

These job cuts come weeks after the station on Commonwealth Avenue warned of possible job cuts.

WBUR’s on-air sponsorship income plummeted by about $7 million in recent years, and the station is looking to begin the next fiscal year with a budget that’s at least $4 million lower than this year.

“I will begin with the hardest news,” CEO Margaret Low wrote to staff members on Wednesday. “We are laying off seven people, including three part-time colleagues. This means valued co-workers are losing their jobs and will leave WBUR before the end of June.”

“It’s painful to lose longtime colleagues and friends and we’ll make time in the weeks ahead to recognize those who will depart,” Low added.

The station has also been offering buyouts, and 24 employees are taking them.

“The number of people who raised their hand allowed us to limit the number of layoffs,” the CEO said.

Among those taking the package are four members of the senior leadership team: Pete Matthews, Del Reese, Mike Steffon and Karl Voelker.

“This is a significant loss of institutional history,” Low said. “It’s worth noting that three of the four have been at WBUR (or Boston University) for more than 25 years. They all saw the Voluntary Program as a rare opportunity to turn the page and do something new.”

The buyout total number won’t be firm until May 1 when employees must formally commit to the voluntary buyout program.

Beyond the layoffs and buyouts, WBUR plans to cut expenses across the board. WBUR is eliminating nine unfilled positions, cutting travel costs, spending less or negotiating lower rates on contracted services.

“A small but not insignificant item — we will no longer buy Peet’s Coffee,” the CEO said. “Thanks to our Business Partnerships team, we now have a trade deal with a local coffee roaster — Fazenda. This will save WBUR thousands of dollars a year. Finally, we will no longer cover cell phone costs for any non-represented colleagues.”

These cuts come as WBUR has the top share for a radio news station in the city.

“There is so much for all of us to be proud of, but I recognize that this has been a tough period for everyone at WBUR,” Low said. “Change of this magnitude is very hard.”