Celtics ready for Heat’s physicality in Game 1 win
The Boston Celtics spent the days leading up to their playoff matchup with the Miami Heat talking about wanting to match the physicality of a team that would be looking for an edge without star Jimmy Butler.
Boston did that and then some.
Jayson Tatum notched his first career playoff tripledouble with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the host Celtics past the Heat 114-94 on Sunday to open their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Derrick White added 20 points and four assists for Boston, which finished with six players in double figures. The Celtics’ lead grew as high as 34 points in the fourth quarter. Miami used a late run to get as close as 14, but Boston closed it out.
“It’s supposed to be tough. In the playoffs no game is easy,” Tatum said. “There’s no guaranteed wins regardless of time and score, how much time is left . ... We just had to respond and we did that.”
Miami spoiled the Celtics’ NBA finals dreams last season, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the conference finals and then blowing them out in Boston in Game 7.
But Boston fed off the energy of the TD Garden crowd, tying a franchise playoff record with 22 threepointers and outscoring the Heat 31-14 in the third quarter.
“There was a four- or fiveminute stretch when we didn't handle it well, but I think the other 42-43 minutes — that's the recipe,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.
Including the regular season, Boston is 38-4 at home and has won its last four meetings with the Heat.
Bam Adebayo scored 24 points for the Miami, which played for the second straight game without star Butler after his right knee injury during the play-in round. Terry Rozier also remained out because of a neck injury. Delon Wright added 17 points and tied a career-high with five threes. Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 16 points. Tyler Herro had 11 points but shot just four for 13 from the field, including two for nine from beyond the arc.
“Applying pressure and making things difficult, not really allowing me to get comfortable really from the beginning,” Herro said. “It's one game. We're going to leave it behind us .”
Tempers flared in the final minute when Caleb Martin undercut Tatum on a rebound attempt and sent him crashing hard to court. Brown got in Martin’s face afterward, leading to a brief scrum and double technical fouls on Brown and Martin.
“It’s a physical game playing against a physical team. [Stuff is] going to happen,” Tatum said. “It’s probably not the last time I’m gong to get hit like that, or fouled in this series. I wasn’t hurt to get hit like that. Just get up . ... Just go down there and knock the free throws down.”
Boston beat Miami in all three regular-season meetings this season, including a 33-point road drubbing.
at Knicks 111, 76ers 104:
Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart each scored 22 points, Deuce McBride led a huge effort by New York’s reserves with 21 and New York beat a hobbled Joel Embiid and visiting Philadelphia on Saturday night.
McBride outscored the 76ers by himself with 13 points in the second quarter, when Embiid had to leave after appearing to reinjure his surgically repaired left knee on a dunk.
He returned and rallied the 76ers into the lead in the second half, but Hart made a couple of big three-pointers in the fourth quarter to help the Knicks pull it out.
Hart also had 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who had lost Game 1 the last three times they opened a series at home. They host Game 2 on Monday.
Embiid finished with 29 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 33 points.
The Knicks outscored the 76ers by 37 points when McBride was in the game, 27 when Bojan Bogdanovic was in and 20 with Mitchell Robinson. Despite being tied for the team high in points, Brunson made only eight of 26 shots in 41 minutes.
“They were the reason why we won the game,” Hart said of the reserves. “When your top dog is not shooting well, you need other guys to pick it up for him.”