Miami Heat stun Boston Celtics, Thunder thrash Pelicans in NBA playoffs........

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.

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.

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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.”

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.

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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.