The Boston Celtics will not get upset by the Miami Heat this year. Boston welcomed Miami to TD Garden on Wednesday night and left no doubt, as they completely overwhelmed their rivals from South Beach from the very start of the game and could have started planning for their conference semifinal matchup by the time the two sides went into the locker room for halftime. When the final buzzer went off, the Celtics picked up a 118-84 win.
Two players primarily spearheaded the Boston offense on Wednesday: Derrick White and Jaylen Brown. Both had been magnificent throughout the series, and once again, they brought their A-game with a chance to close the Heat out. White continued his recent hot streak from three, as he knocked down five of his 10 attempts from deep as he put up 25 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 29 minutes of work.
As has been the case for much of the series, Miami just didn’t have much of anything for Brown, who went for 25 points and six rebounds. He shot 11-for-19 from the field, but six of those eight misses came from behind the three-point line.
Jrue Holiday’s hustle leads to the Jaylen Brown bucket early in the 1Q!
BOS looks to advance to the East Semis with a win tonight on TNT pic.twitter.com/Ej4gsu1nsn
— NBA (@NBA) May 1, 2024
Jaylen Brown goes iso and spins into the bucket to push Boston’s lead in the 3Q 🌪️
The Celtics advance to the East Semis with a win on TNT pic.twitter.com/ZLCzdD54Kc
— NBA (@NBA) May 2, 2024
Boston, which did not have the services of Kristaps Porzingis on the night, was buoyed by a productive night off the bench by Sam Hauser’s 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting from deep, along with a double-double by Jayson Tatum, who had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
For Miami — which learned before the game that Jaime Jaquez Jr. would join Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier, and Josh Richardson on the sideline due to injury — Bam Adebayo led the way with 23 points, six assists, five rebounds, and two steals. But the problem was a lack of a consistent threat from the perimeter, as the Heat could not keep up with the fact that the Celtics went 16-for-40 from three. As a team, Miami shot 3-for-29 from behind the arc, while top perimeter threat Tyler Herro was only able to put up 15 points on 6-for-19 shooting.
The Celtics now get to sit, put their feet up, and wait to see what happens in the 4-5 series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic. While the Cavs hold a 3-2 lead in the series, Game 6 will take place in Orlando, and the home team has won every game to this point.