MIAMI — — For 2 days, the Boston Celtics lamented getting crushed on their residence ground. And once they lastly bought to play once more, they set free all of the frustration.
The end result: a defensive masterpiece.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown every scored 22 factors to guide a balanced strategy, and the Celtics soundly beat the Miami Warmth 104-84 on Saturday night time to a take a 2-1 lead of their Japanese Convention first-round playoff collection.
“We did not make too many changes,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla mentioned. “We performed a bit of bit more durable, we performed more durable and we dictated the physicality and the tempo of the sport. It is the easy issues that it’s a must to do below a excessive stage of stress, excessive stage of adversity. I believed our guys did an incredible job of dictating that tonight.”
Recreation 4 is Monday in Miami, the place the Celtics are 9-2 of their final 11 video games and 6-1 of their final seven playoff video games.
Tatum added 10 rebounds and 6 assists for the Celtics, who led Recreation 3 wire-to-wire and reclaimed the home-court edge that they misplaced when Miami gained Recreation 2 in Boston. Kristaps Porzingis had 18 factors and Derrick White scored 16 for the Celtics.
The final time both crew noticed these sort of numbers — Boston on protection, Miami on offense — was Recreation 5 of the East finals on Might 25, 2022, a 93-80 Celtics highway win that helped them attain that season’s NBA Finals. The Warmth had scored greater than 84 factors in each recreation since and the Celtics had allowed greater than 84 in each recreation since.
“That’s the place we’re going to win video games, on the defensive finish,” Tatum mentioned.
Bam Adebayo scored 20 factors for eighth-seeded Miami, which stays with out starters Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier due to accidents. Nikola Jovic and Tyler Herro every scored 15 for the Warmth, who bought 12 from Jaime Jaquez Jr.
“They took us out of stuff we want to get to,” Warmth coach Erik Spoelstra mentioned. “They have been the extra bodily crew. They bodied us, bullied us on screens, bought by stuff, distorted screens, the whole lot. … You must credit score them for that. They have been the extra bodily crew, the crew with extra physicality and power on each ends of the court docket.”
Bounce-back efforts have been a development for Boston this season. The Celtics — the No. 1 general seed within the playoffs — do not lose usually, and once they do, they have an inclination to simply come out and win their subsequent one. Boston is now 15-4 within the recreation instantly following a loss this season, its common victory margin in these video games 12.2 factors.
“Simply mindset,” Brown mentioned. “We put an emphasis on protection, attempting to make them uncomfortable a bit of bit … and I feel that opened up the sport.”
Boston by no means trailed in Recreation 1, a 114-94 win, and by no means trailed in Recreation 3 both on its solution to beating Miami for the fifth time in six conferences this season. The Celtics led 21-12 after one, setting the tone for the way nothing would come simply for the Warmth.
Halfway by the second quarter, it — briefly — appeared like Miami had weathered the storm. The Warmth have been making a little bit of a run, the constructing had some life and Herro had a have a look at a 3-pointer that may have gotten the Warmth inside 10.
It rimmed out. The storm was not weathered. It was, in actual fact, simply beginning.
The Celtics outscored Miami 20-8 within the subsequent 4 ½ minutes to go up 61-36 and the sport was actually by no means doubtful once more It was 63-39 on the break, Boston dominant in each which approach — a 19-2 edge in factors off turnovers, a 26-12 scoring edge within the paint, 27-15 in rebounds, 13-6 in assists.
The lead reached 29 within the second half, Miami by no means getting nearer than 18 after halftime.
“From the leap, they have been extra aggressive than us,” Jovic mentioned. “That should not be taking place.”
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