For two days, the Boston Celtics felt bad about losing on their court. But when they finally played again, they channeled all that frustration into their game. The outcome: a stellar defensive performance.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 22 points to lead a well-rounded effort, and the Celtics convincingly defeated the Miami Heat 104-84 on Saturday night to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
“We didn’t change too much,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “We just played with more intensity, controlled the physicality, and set the pace of the game. It’s the simple thing you have to do when facing pressure and adversity. Our guys did a great job with that tonight.”
Game 4 is Monday in Miami, where the Celtics have a strong record of 9-2 in their last 11 games and 6-1 in their last seven playoff games.
Tatum also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out six assists for the Celtics, who led Game 3 from start to finish and regained the home-court advantage they lost when Miami won Game 2 in Boston. Kristaps Porzingis contributed 18 points, and Derrick White added 16 for the Celtics.
The last time either team had these kinds of stats — Boston’s strong defense and Miami’s weak offense — was in Game 5 of the East finals on May 25, 2022. That game ended with a 93-80 victory for the Celtics on the road, helping them reach the NBA Finals that season.
Since then, the Heat has scored more than 84 points in every game, and the Celtics have allowed more than 84 points in every game. “That’s where we’re going to win games, on the defensive end,” Tatum said.
Bam Adebayo scored 20 points for the eighth-seeded Miami team, which is missing starters Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier due to injuries. Nikola Jokić and Tyler Herro each scored 15 for the Heat, with Jaime Jaquez Jr. adding 12.
“They took us out of stuff we would like to get to,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They were the more physical team. They bodied us, bullied us on screens, got through stuff, distorted screens, everything. … You have to credit them for that. They were the more physical team, the team with more physicality and force on both ends of the court.”
The Celtics have shown a trend of bouncing back this season. As the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs, they don’t lose often, and when they do, they usually win their next game. Boston now has a 15-4 record in the game right after a loss this season, winning those games by an average margin of 12.2 points.
“Just mindset,” Brown said. “We emphasized defense, trying to make them uncomfortable a little bit … and I think that opened up the game.”
