Keys to the game: Celtics 114, Heat 94
Key moment
Were you convinced going into the playoffs that it's #DifferentHere in Boston this season? If not, maybe Game 1 between the Celtics and the Heat convinced you.
Boston came out on Sunday afternoon and crushed the Heat, sending a message to them and the league that this version of the Celtics is very different from last year's version of the Celtics. As many will remember, Miami marched into the TD Garden during last year's Eastern Conference Finals and stole Games 1, 2 and 7 en route to a shocking series upset.
Not this time.
The Celtics dominated from start to finish, jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first three minutes. Miami called a timeout after the first nine points, but the tone had already been set for the rest of the afternoon. Boston cruised to a 114-94 victory, leading by as many as 34 points.
Jaylen Brown was the man to start it all, scoring the first five points of the night for Boston. He hit a 3-pointer on the game's opening possession and followed it up with a transition slam 27 seconds later.
Kristaps Porzingis followed Brown's 5-0 spurt with a turnaround jumper before Jayson Tatum made it 9-0 with a driving layup just 1:55 into the game. Erik Spoelstra called a timeout in an attempt to stem the momentum, but to no avail.
Boston forced a Miami turnover on the ensuing possession and then scored five unanswered points to make it 14-0. That's all the C's needed to put this one in the win column, as they led by double digits for most of the rest of the game to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Key player
Jayson Tatum did something he has never done before on Sunday afternoon. And that's saying a lot for one of the most accomplished young players in basketball history.
Tatum dominated Game 1 against the Heat, recording his first career playoff triple-double. He finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, with the latter two figures standing as the game's top marks.
Sunday's performance also marked Tatum's highest assist total of the calendar year. The last time he had 10 dimes was on 28 December against Detroit, when he also had 10 helpers, meaning he has yet to reach double figures in that category in 2024.
You don't have to go back quite as far to find the last time Tatum reached double figures in the rebounding department. That came on 1 April, when he also grabbed 10 boards.
The thing is, as great as Tatum has been throughout his playoff career, he had never been this good in all three categories on the same night. Now he has, and he's finally got a playoff triple-double to show for it.
Nuggets box score
*The Celtics tied a franchise playoff record with 22 3-pointers.
*Jayson Tatum recorded his first career playoff triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
*Six Celtics scored in double figures, led by Tatum's 23 points.
*Boston blocked six shots to Miami's one.
*Sam Hauser (12 points) and Payton Pritchard (10 points) were great off the bench for the Celtics.
*Derrick White scored 20 points on just 10 shots.
*Bam Adebayo led the way with 24 points, while Delon Wright led all reserves with 17 points off the bench for Miami.
*Wright was a perfect 5-for-5 from deep.
*Boston had as many defensive rebounds, 34, as Miami had total rebounds.
*Miami outscored Boston 44-24 in the paint.
*Boston outscored Miami 66-36 from beyond the arc.
Quote of the night.
"Take care of the ball, get the shots we want and don't relax. We were up [34] points or whatever, human nature can play a factor. But playoff basketball, you can't relax until it's zero on the clock.
- Jayson Tatum on Boston's lead slipping away in the fourth quarter
Comments
Post a Comment