The Celtics talked about matching the physical play of Miami, especially without star Jimmy Butler.
Boston did even more than that.
Jayson Tatum recorded his first playoff triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, leading Boston to a 114-94 victory over the Miami Heat to start their first-round playoff series.
Derrick White also scored 20 points and had four assists for Boston. The Celtics had six players scoring in double figures. They were ahead by as much as 34 points in the fourth quarter. Although Miami narrowed the gap to 14 at one point, Boston finished strong.
Tatum said, “Playoffs are supposed to be tough. No game is easy. We had to respond and we did.”
Last season, Miami ruined Boston's chances of reaching the NBA finals by taking a 3-0 lead in the conference finals and winning Game 7 in Boston.
On Sunday, Boston benefited from the TD Garden crowd's energy, tying a franchise playoff record with 22 3-pointers and outscoring the Heat 31-14 in the third quarter.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said, “We didn’t handle it well for a few minutes, but overall, that's the recipe. The other 42-43 minutes were good.”
In total, Boston has a 38-4 record at home and has won its last four games against the Heat.
Bam Adebayo scored 24 points for Miami, which played without star Butler for the second game in a row due to a right knee injury during the play-in round. Terry Rozier also remained out with a neck injury. Delon Wright added 17 points and tied a career-high with five 3-pointers. Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 16 points. Tyler Herro had 11 points, but he struggled with shooting, making only 4 of 13 from the field, including 2 of 9 from beyond the arc.
Herro said, “They applied pressure and made it difficult for me to get comfortable from the start. It’s just one game. We'll move on from it.”
The second game will take place in Boston on Wednesday.
In the final minute of the game, there was a heated moment when Caleb Martin fouled Tatum during a rebound attempt, causing Tatum to fall hard to the floor. Afterward, Brown confronted Martin, resulting in a brief altercation and double technical fouls on Brown and Martin.
Tatum stated, “It’s a physical game against a physical team. It’s likely not the last time I'll be hit like that or fouled in this series. I wasn't hurt. I just got up and made my free throws.”
For most of the game, Miami was outplayed, especially in terms of offensive rebounds, only managing to get five.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, “Boston controlled the game from the beginning. They dominated in physicality as well as the 3-point line and everything in between.”
Boston didn't have Luke Kornet due to a right calf strain, but the bench players made up for it, contributing 30 points.
Sunday’s game felt very different without Butler, who played a big role in Miami’s postseason success last year.
Boston won all three regular-season games against the Heat this year, including a 33-point win in Miami.
Sunday’s game looked like that one, with the Celtics taking control of the game from the very beginning.
Tatum lost the ball while trying to dunk on the first play of the game, but managed to grab the loose ball and passed to Brown for a 3-pointer.
After Miami missed a shot, Brown made a drive and spin move to score a two-handed dunk past Jaquez Jr.
This was part of a 17-2 run by the Celtics in the first three minutes. Miami missed their first four shots before Adebayo scored a short jumper.
BOSTON — The Celtics talked about matching the physicality of Miami in the days leading up to their playoff matchup, knowing that Miami would be trying to gain an advantage without their star player Jimmy Butler.
