Boston Celtics: Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown shine in 109-101 win over the Miami Heat

No Jayson Tatum, no Enes Kanter? Evidently, no problem as the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat 109-101 to improve to 31-15 on the season.

Last night, the Boston Celtics secured their fourth win in five outings, as they downed the Miami Heat 109-101. While Kemba Walker continued his stellar play as he’s done all season, it was Jaylen Brown and, to an even greater extent, Gordon Hayward who steered the C’s to this impressive victory.

The duo combined for 54 of the team’s 109 point total, and each shot a fantastic 50% from downtown. Both set the tone early — something the Boston Celtics have struggled to do all season — and had their play flow into the second half and, more importantly, the fourth quarter.

Hayward led all scorers in the game with 29 to go along with nine boards, two assists and a block on 71% shooting from the field while Brown put up 25 points (second highest in the game), five assists, three rebounds and also a block on 63% shooting from the floor.

As previously mentioned, Kemba too had himself a productive night, registering 16 points and eight assists. Though his shooting was a bit off (5 of 19 from the field and 3 of 13 from downtown) the point guard seemed satisfied with letting his teammates receive their share of looks and help get the ball moving on offense. Walker managed to set up his teammates quite nicely in the contest — as evident by his assist total — and helped seal the victory for the C’s on a drive (which brought three Miami defenders) and kick to Marcus Smart at the top of the key for a pivotal three in the closing minutes.

Speaking of Smart, the combo guard — who got the start with the absence of Jayson Tatum — had himself a very impactful night. Finishing with 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists and an astounding three blocks, Smart proved vital down the stretch, hitting the go ahead three that was previously mentioned and flying over the trees with under two minutes left to swat out the offensive rebound to give his team a huge second possession just as the Heat began to regain momentum.

Daniel Theis dropped a double-double, recording 10 points and 11 boards to go along with two blocks while Semi Ojeleye (seven points on 75% shooting) and Grant Williams (five points and seven boards) saw an uptick in minutes and produced admirably.

As a unit, the Boston Celtics’ defense played quite well, considering they were playing one of the best offenses in the NBA (111.5 offensive rating, eighth best). They managed to register eight blocks & five steals on the night and, though he still scored 20 points, kept All-Star guard Jimmy Butler to just 36% shooting from the floor and forced three turnovers from him.

Overall, the shamrocks played a very fluid and competitive game from start to finish. Unlike many of their other contests, they managed to come out hot right from the get-go, which helped them grab and, for the most part, hold onto the lead throughout the contest.

With his victory, Boston moves to 5-4 against the other four teams residing in the East’s top-5, and are 2-0 against the Heat. Their next outing will come Thursday night against the Golden state Warriors. Lets hope this impressive play continues during their upcoming two-game homestand.