MIAMI — Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 22 points, and the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat 104-84 Saturday night to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Tatum added 10 rebounds and six assists for the Celtics, who led Game 3 wire-to-wire and reclaimed the home-court advantage they lost when Miami won Game 2 in Boston.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 18 points and Derrick White scored 16 for the Celtics, who used runs of 12-3, 11-0 and 20-8 in the first half to take complete control.
Bam Adebayo scored 20 points for eighth-seeded Miami, which remains without starters Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier due to injuries.
Nikola Jovic and Tyler Herro each scored 15 for the Heat, who got 12 from Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Game 4 is Monday in Miami, where the Celtics are 9-2 in their last 11 games and 6-1 in their last seven playoff games.
It was a season low in points scored for Miami, a season low in points allowed for Boston.
Rebounding efforts have been a trend for Boston this season.
The Celtics – the No. 1 seed in the playoffs – don’t lose often, and when they do, they tend to just go out and win their next game.
Boston is now 15-4 in the game immediately after a loss this season, with its average margin of victory in these games being 12.2 points.
Boston never trailed in Game 1, a 114-94 victory, and never trailed in Game 3, en route to beating Miami for the fifth time in six games this season.
The Celtics started slow and Miami started slower, with Boston leading 21-12 after one and setting the tone that nothing would come easy for the Heat.
It was Miami’s lowest-scoring first quarter in its last 197 games, dating back to the 2022 playoffs – also against Boston, when the Heat managed 11 points in the first 12 minutes of Game 4 of that series Eastern final.
Midway through the second quarter, it looked — briefly — like Miami had weathered the storm.
The Heat had a bit of a run, the building had a bit of life and Herro glanced at a 3-point shot that would have brought the Heat to within 10.
It ended. The storm was not weathered. In fact, it was just beginning.
The Celtics outscored Miami 20-8 in the next 4 ½ minutes to lead 61-36, and that’s when a good number of fans decided to head a little early for a refreshment at the half-time.
It was 63-39 at the break, Boston dominating in every way – a 19-2 advantage in points off turnovers, a 26-12 advantage in the paint, 27-15 in rebounds, 13-6 in assists decisive.
The lead grew to 29 in the second half, with Miami never getting closer than 18 after halftime.
New York Post
