The Boston Celtics entered Wednesday night looking for their 14th win in their last 15 games. For the Miami Heat, they were coming off a three-game winning steak against the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks.
Miami was noticeably without their best player in Jimmy Butler, who was out due to a knee injury. As for Boston, Jaylen Brown was questionable with a neck injury that was day-to-day but decided to play.
The Celtics came out the gates blazing, making their first seven shots from the field including five three-pointers. Even as they led 20-6, Miami responded with a 21-5 run to keep things interesting in the first quarter.
Jayson Tatum made sure to give Boston a solid advantage, dropping 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting throughout the first half to give his team an eight-point lead heading into halftime.
The third quarter saw Miami win the scoring battle thanks to an offensive outburst from Max Strus. He put up 19 of his 23 total points in the period, which involved him nailing five shots from downtown to cut Boston’s lead to six entering the fourth quarter.
Even as Miami tried to keep the game close, the Celtics weathered the storm as Tatum provided eight more points in the fourth quarter to cap off an astounding 49-point performance for the 134-121 win!
Here are 3 takeaways from the Boston Celtics’ closeout victory over the Heat
No. 1: Jayson Tatum maintains his dominance in scoring
Tatum continued to find his hot spots no matter what the Heat defense threw at him.
He shot 15-of-25 from the field including eight three-pointers, and made 11 free throws. Not only that, he also put up 11 rebounds, three assists, and two steals to finish up an amazing double-double night for the Boston Celtics superstar.
Tatum is increasing the momentum for his MVP campaign, putting together averages of 30.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.2 blocks on 48.1 percent shooting from the field and 34.7 percent from the 3-point line.
It is beyond entertaining to see Tatum pull out the fancy dribble moves before pulling up from downtown, get to the pain in aggressive fashion, and show Celtics fans a great time with his scoring prowess. Hopefully he can maintain that edge as the season winds down.
No. 2: The ball movement continues to be crisp
What made the Boston Celtics exciting to watch this season has been their willingness to move the ball around, and they showed that against Miami.
They created 32 assists for one another, a new season-high. This is the first 30-assist outing for Boston this year, following 18 20-assist nights from the team.
It has really done wonders for the Celtics to have two playmakers in Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon, who have been more than effective in their roles this year.
Smart is having an incredible time in the playmaking category, dishing out a career-high 7.5 assists per game while Brogdon puts up 3.8 assists off the bench. The Celtics are seventh throughout the entire league in assists thanks to their efforts.
Boston has placed an emphasis on finding the open man, whether it be inside the paint, beyond the arc, or during the transition, as it created incredible results with the firepower offense they possess.
No. 3: The Celtics really want Robert Williams III to return soon
As amazing Boston’s offense has been so far this season, there is the question to whether they can maintain that intensity for the rest of the campaign, especially with how they played at the defensive end.
Allowing 121 points against a Heat squad without their best player in Jimmy Butler shows there is still work to be done on that side of the ball.
The Celtics gave up 50 points inside the paint, and uncharacteristically conceded 18 three-pointers from what was a great shooting night for the Heat.
Boston currently ranks 14th in points allowed and 17th in defensive rating. While their league-best offense has more than made up for it, it is important that they start to pick up their defense as Robert Williams III will be key to that once he returns from injury around Christmas.
Williams III was crucial to helping the Boston Celtics become the best defensive team in the league last season. If he can return and maintain the form that garnered him an All-NBA Defensive Team, Boston will be more deadly than ever before.