Miami Heat strike first against Celtics in East finals behind Butler’s masterclass

Jimmy Butler scored 35 points, including 20 after halftime, and the Miami Heat rallied in the second half to beat the Boston Celtics 123-116 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday night.

Miami trailed by nine at the half before turning it around with a franchise playoff-record 46 points in the third and outscoring Boston 66-50 over the final two quarters. It was Butler’s fifth game with 30 or more points this postseason and he added seven assists, six steals and five rebounds.

“One of the premier two-way basketball players of this association. ... That’s what we needed.” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Down the stretch Jimmy was able to do everything we needed – as a scorer and as a facilitator.”

Bam Adebayo added 20 points and eight rebounds. Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin and Gabe Vincent and Max Strus all added 15 points apiece. The Heat went 16 of 31 from the three-point line.

The No 8-seeded Heat have opened all three playoff series with road victories. Game 2 is Friday in Boston.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 30 points, but didn’t take a shot in the fourth quarter. Jaylen Brown finished with 22 points and nine rebounds. Malcolm Brogdon added 19 points.

The Celtics, who are at their best when they’re defending and getting up more shots than their opponents, were 10 of 29 from beyond the arc.

“We lost our offensive purpose,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.

The tip-off of Wednesday’s series marked the third time in four seasons that the Heat and Celtics have met in the conference finals. Boston won last year’s matchup in seven games.

Wednesday’s opener felt every bit like a continuation of that most recent meeting. Boston dominated inside early on and led by nine at halftime.

Spoelstra said his team