Three takeaways from relentless Butler, Heat taking Game 1 from Celtics

For the third straight series, Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat went on the road, played with force and determination, and shocked the NBA with a Game 1 upset win.

For the roughly 3,647th time this season, the Boston Celtics lost their edge.

It came together when Miami dominated the third quarter — winning it 46-25 — and held on for the 123-116 win. Game 2 takes place Friday night in Boston, where the pressure will be on the Celtics.

Here are three takeaways from Game 1.

This Miami win was more mental than physical.

Miami wears teams down because they do not stop playing hard and executing. Ever. They just keep coming. And if their opponent lets up — even for one quarter — that will cost them the game. That’s what happened on Wednesday night in Boston, the Heat kept relentlessly playing their game and executing, and the Celtics could not match that focus and intensity.

“We came out to cool, it was just almost like we were just playing a regular season game,” the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown said of the third quarter. “It’s the Eastern Conference Finals, like, come on.”

This attitude from the Celtics is nothing new.

“We get tired of doing the little things sometimes,” Marcus Smart said of why Boston has these stretches and games where they are flat.

HIGHLIGHTS: Heat dominate C's in 3rd quarter, take Game 1

Presented by @Kelly_Jeep pic.twitter.com/I23iVkv01o

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 18, 2023

This lack of execution and focus by the Celtics is not on coach Joe Mazzulla, this roster did it last season under Ime Udoka (even if it feels like those stretches were shorter last season). If the Heat and their relentlessness reflects Jimmy Butler — and it does — what do the ugly patches say about the Celtics’ locker