Boston Celtics – Miami Heat · NBA

Win probability changed during the game. · 6 January 2021

BOS107–105MIA

Is it worth watching?

Highly recommended

It was more exciting than 87% of NBA games since 2017

· It was still open in the final minutes
· The win probability swung between the two teams 17 times
· It stayed close for almost the whole game

It measures how much the win probability moved during the game —without looking at who won or at the score— and compares it with the 10,950 NBA games with a curve since 2017. “Highly recommended” is the most intense 20%, “recommended” runs from 50% to 80%, and “skippable” is the rest. Source: ESPN.

↑ MIA winsBOS wins ↓

Home team's win probability across the game (source: ESPN). The band rises when MIA leads and falls when BOS does.

This is how the game was decided.

Jayson Tatum decided it, the Boston Celtics player with the most points (27, with 5 rebounds and 4 assists; +7 with him on the floor); the winner's best plus-minus was Grant Williams's (+8). The criterion: the winner's points in the box score; plus-minus says who was on the floor when the game opened up.

The game-winner in Miami Heat 105-107 Boston Celtics (January 6, 2021) was hit by Payton Pritchard: a putback with 0.2 s left in the fourth quarter, putting the Boston Celtics up 107-105. They never trailed again.

The biggest run of Miami Heat 105-107 Boston Celtics (January 6, 2021) was a 13-0 run by the Boston Celtics in the fourth quarter (from 4:06 to 1:17), from 92-95 to 105-95. The Miami Heat' best was a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter (from 1:09 to 13.4 s), from 95-105 to 105-105.

▸See where these figures come from

Play: Payton Pritchard makes tip shot.

I count as the game-winner the basket that puts the winning team ahead for good. Source: the official NBA play-by-play (since 2002-03) and each team's official box scores.

A run here is consecutive points by one team without the opponent scoring. Source: the official NBA play-by-play (since 2002-03) and each team's official box scores.

Source: the game's official box score and play-by-play.

Payton Pritchard decided this game: his points put his team ahead with 0.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and the opponent never led again.

It is the only game he has decided this way in the NBA since the 2002-03 season.

His profile shows the games Pritchard decided

▸See where these figures come from

A game is decided by the last basket that puts a team ahead in the final ten seconds of the fourth quarter or of an overtime, if that team wins.

6 January 2021 · The source is the ESPN play-by-play, play espn:401267271:643; the date is the one on the NBA box score.

Rotations · who was on the floor

Closing lineup · BOS

Tatum · Brown · Smart · Theis · Williams

Closing lineup · MIA

Adebayo · Herro · Butler · Robinson · Dragic

Q1Q2Q3Q4

BOS

Jayson Tatum

38′ · +7

Jaylen Brown

37′ · -8

Marcus Smart

32′ · -6

Daniel Theis

28′ · -4

Tristan Thompson

20′ · +1

Payton Pritchard

20′ · +6

Semi Ojeleye

13′ · +1

Robert Williams III

15′ · +3

Grant Williams

28′ · +8

Carsen Edwards

10′ · +2

MIA

Bam Adebayo

34′ · -9

Tyler Herro

34′ · +2

Jimmy Butler III

33′ · +8

Duncan Robinson

31′ · +12

Kelly Olynyk

21′ · +2

Goran Dragic

28′ · -8

Precious Achiuwa

14′ · +7

Avery Bradley

24′ · -3

Andre Iguodala

21′ · -21

Each bar is a stint on the floor (source: NBA). The number is minutes played and the team's +/− with him on the court. BOS and MIA.

These lineups played the most minutes together.

Boston Celtics

Brown, Tatum, Theis, Thompson, and Smart played 10.1 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 1 point.
Brown, Tatum, Theis, Williams, and Smart played 8.0 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.
Tatum, Ojeleye, Williams, Williams, and Pritchard played 5.6 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 8 points.

Miami Heat

Adebayo, Robinson, Herro, Butler, and Olynyk played 12.4 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 1 point.
Adebayo, Robinson, Dragic, Bradley, and Iguodala played 8.0 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 7 points.
Adebayo, Herro, Dragic, Butler, and Iguodala played 5.3 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 11 points.

▸See every lineup of the game

Boston Celtics

Brown, Tatum, Williams, Thompson, and Smart played 4.1 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.
Brown, Edwards, Williams, Williams, and Pritchard played 3.9 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 2 points.
Brown, Theis, Pritchard, Thompson, and Smart played 2.4 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 1 point.
Tatum, Edwards, Williams, Williams, and Pritchard played 2.2 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 1 point.
Brown, Tatum, Ojeleye, Williams, and Williams played 2.0 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 2 points.
Brown, Ojeleye, Theis, Thompson, and Smart played 2.0 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 2 points.
Tatum, Theis, Edwards, Pritchard, and Smart played 1.5 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.
Brown, Tatum, Ojeleye, Theis, and Smart played 1.4 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 1 point.
Brown, Theis, Edwards, Williams, and Pritchard played 1.2 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.
Brown, Ojeleye, Theis, Pritchard, and Smart played 1.1 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.
Tatum, Ojeleye, Williams, Pritchard, and Smart played 1.0 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 2 points.

Miami Heat

Robinson, Herro, Achiuwa, Bradley, and Butler played 3.5 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 5 points.
Robinson, Achiuwa, Dragic, Bradley, and Iguodala played 3.0 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 3 points.
Herro, Achiuwa, Dragic, Bradley, and Iguodala played 2.8 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 6 points.
Herro, Achiuwa, Dragic, Butler, and Olynyk played 2.4 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 5 points.
Adebayo, Herro, Bradley, Butler, and Olynyk played 2.4 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 2 points.
Adebayo, Herro, Dragic, Butler, and Olynyk played 1.6 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.
Robinson, Achiuwa, Dragic, Butler, and Iguodala played 1.5 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.
Adebayo, Robinson, Herro, Bradley, and Butler played 1.4 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 4 points.
Adebayo, Dragic, Bradley, Butler, and Olynyk played 1.4 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.
Adebayo, Robinson, Herro, Dragic, and Butler played 1.3 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 8 points.
Herro, Achiuwa, Dragic, Bradley, and Olynyk played 1.1 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.

▸See where these figures come from

The lineups come from the NBA's official rotation: who was on the floor and when. Each lineup's plus-minus is worked out from every player's stints and is only shown when they all add up with each other and with the final score.

Jaylen Brown covered 4.41 km, more than anyone in the game.

Jayson Tatum touched the ball 84 times, a game high.
Marcus Smart made 64 passes, a game high.
Bam Adebayo defended 8 shots at the rim, a game high, and opponents made 6.
Jaylen Brown had 18 rebound chances, a game high.

▸See what was measured for each player

Boston Celtics

Player	km	km/h	Touches	Passes
Jaylen Brown	4.41	6.7	74	45
Jayson Tatum	4.15	6.2	84	56
Marcus Smart	3.78	6.6	77	64
Daniel Theis	3.51	7.0	32	19
Grant Williams	3.28	6.5	38	29
Tristan Thompson	2.54	7.4	34	26
Payton Pritchard	2.53	6.8	53	40
Semi Ojeleye	1.72	7.3	17	11
Robert Williams III	1.72	6.4	21	16
Carsen Edwards	1.19	6.9	8	4

Miami Heat

Player	km	km/h	Touches	Passes
Tyler Herro	4.38	7.2	53	39
Jimmy Butler III	4.07	6.9	68	41
Bam Adebayo	4.01	6.6	68	46
Duncan Robinson	3.85	6.9	43	31
Goran Dragic	3.30	6.4	52	36

The figures come from the NBA's optical tracking (NBA.com) for this game; speed is each player's average while on the floor.

Who stood out on defense during the season

These figures cover the whole 2020-21 regular season, not this game.

Boston Celtics

Marcus Smart deflected 3.3 passes per game over his 48 games.
He ranks 7 of 364 in the league.
Jaylen Brown recovered 1.1 loose balls per game over his 58 games.
He ranks 20 of 364 in the league.
Daniel Theis contested 9.2 shots per game over his 65 games.
He ranks 25 of 364 in the league.

Miami Heat

Jimmy Butler III recovered 1.2 loose balls per game over his 52 games.
He ranks 3 of 364 in the league.
Kelly Olynyk drew 0.23 charges per game over his 70 games.
He ranks 19 of 364 in the league.
Bam Adebayo contested 9.9 shots per game over his 64 games.
He ranks 19 of 364 in the league.

Hustle figures come from the hustle stats the NBA publishes (NBA.com) and rim defense comes from its tracking; both cover the regular season. For each player in this game we show the figure that ranks him highest in the league, and for each team, the three best ranked. Ranks count players with at least 30 games and, at the rim, at least 4 defended shots per game.

The Miami Heat have won 75 of their 186 games against the Boston Celtics.

75-111record of the Miami Heat · NBA 1988-89 – 2025-26, regular season and playoffs

0-4in 2025-26

See the full head-to-head in the Analyst

See where it comes from

Official NBA box scores, regular season and playoffs, 1988-89 – 2025-26. It counts every game between the two teams that the house holds, this one included.

SportiveWorld knows much more about this game

Game context

Scoring

212

combined points

12.2 below the season average (224.2)

⚖️ The last two minutes

Official NBA L2M report: every call in the endgame, reviewed by the league.

19 calls reviewed4 errors admitted by the NBA

Foul: Shooting · 00:01.8

Duncan Robinson → Marcus Smart

Robinson (MIA) makes contact to Smart's (BOS) shoulder that affects his driving shot attempt.

Foul: Shooting · 00:38.8

Jayson Tatum → Duncan Robinson

Tatum (BOS) makes marginal contact with Robinson's (MIA) left arm after the release of the jump shot and does not affect Robinson's ability to completely follow through. The reaction is not consistent with the level of contact.

Foul: Personal · 00:50.9

Jimmy Butler → Jayson Tatum

Butler (MIA) makes leg to leg contact with Tatum (BOS) that affects his SQBR at the end of the drive.

Foul: Personal · 00:56.8

Duncan Robinson → Grant Williams

Robinson (MIA) makes contact with Williams' (BOS) arm that affects his ability to pass.