Tatum triple-double seals Celtics win over Heat in series opener

Published 21/04/2024 at 22:04 GMT

Boston Celtics clinched a 114-94 win in their NBA Playoffs series opener against the Miami Heat at the TD Garden. Jayson Tatum scored 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to notch a triple-double and lead his side to a dominant win. The Heat were without Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier, the former of which was key in their run to the finals last year. Game 2 takes place on Wednesday in Boston.

Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics drives to the basket during the game against the Miami Heat during Round 1 Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs

Image credit: Eurosport

The Boston Celtics started their NBA Playoff campaign with a 114-94 win over the Miami Heat, who were missing key players Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier at an energetic TD Garden.

Jayson Tatum led Boston with a first career playoff triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Derrick White added 20 points and four assists for Boston as one of six players on the team to be in double-digits.

Boston jumped on the Heat from the get-go, going on a 17-2 run over the first three or so minutes. The first possession of the game saw Tatum corral a loose ball and find Jaylen Brown for a 3-pointer – the first of 22.

Feeding off the energy of the TD Garden crowd, the Celtics built up a healthy lead, outscoring the Heat 31-14 in the third quarter.

Their lead grew as high as 34 points in the fourth. Despite a late run from Miami to cut the lead down to 14, Boston were able to close it out.

Tempers did flare in the final minute although as Caleb Martin hit Tatum on a rebound attempt and sent him crashing hard to floor. Brown got in Martin’s face leading to a brief scramble between players and double technical fouls on Brown and Martin.

Bam Adebayo scored 24 points for Miami. Delon Wright added 17 points, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 16 points.

Tyler Herro was expected to step up with a strong performance but was mostly silent, finishing with 11 points and only making four of 11 attempts from the field.

Boston beat the Heat in all three regular-season meetings this season, including a 33-point drubbing in Miami which this game resembled without Butler.

Last season the Heat, the eighth seed in the playoffs defied expectations to reach the NBA finals from the same seeding and Butler’s heroics were key in that.

But with him expected to be out for multiple weeks there is a noticeable void in this Miami side.

The star player sustained an MCL injury in Miami’s105-104 loss to the 76ers in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 Eastern Conference Play-In tie. Despite the injury, Butler remarkably played three quarters of the game and netted an impressive stat line, although no doubt aggravated the injury.

Heat return to the TD Garden on Wednesday for Game 2.

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