An ugly start to the third quarter saw the Celtics 8-point halftime lead evaporate. Trailing 71-69 with 6:03 remaining in the period, Boston showed their championship DNA and closed the quarter on an impressive 20-6 run. Thanks to the convincing run, the Celtics opened up their road season with a 111-104 victory over the Miami Heat in a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals.
The run began with Bam Adebayo picking up his fourth personal, and the Celtics capitalized from there. A personal 6-0 run from Jayson Tatum kick started things as he weaved his way to the basket for a tough finish, and hit a pullup 3 over the smaller Gabe Vincent. Tatum finished with a game high 29 points on 10/22 shooting.
After the game, Jaylen Brown said “Bam is their rim protector. I would say he’s their only rim protector.” The Boston Celtics dominated when Bam went to the bench, posting a +27 point differential in those 13 minutes.
The Celtics led this game for the majority, but more than anything, Boston used a balanced attack from deep to pull away. Six different Celtics hit at least two 3-pointers, a figure only four achieved in the opener. Jaylen Brown paced Boston for much of the first half, scoring 14 of his 28 points. Boston also got a boost from the supporting cast as 6 different players scored at least 8 points and the team combined for 11 blocked shots.
In the opener against Philadelphia, Boston struggled defending the point of attack, and tonight the team made it a point of emphasis to closeout to shooters. Tyler Herro led all scorers with 15 in the first half, and he struggled once the Celtics moved to a switch heavy scheme after the break.
Boston now continues their road trip tomorrow night in Orlando, before going to Chicago on Monday.
