Everything you need to know about the Celtics beating the Heat 110-105 with BSJ insight and analysis
Box Score
HEADLINES
Horford notches first triple-double as a Celtic, helping hosts hold on: Al Horford posted his first triple-double as a Celtic on Monday night, leading the way for the hosts who hung on for a 110-105 victory despite nearly blowing a 23-point first quarter lead. Horford posted 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists while Kyrie Irving added a team-high 25 points in what was largely an uninspiring win for the Celtics after outscoring the Heat 36-17 in the first quarter. Slowly but surely, the Heat chipped away at the deficit for the remainder of the evening behind the hot shooting of Goran Dragic (team-high 30 points) and some 2-3 zone defense that gave Boston's second unit offense fits at times. However, some big buckets from Irving and Jayson Tatum (19 points) in the fourth quarter enabled Boston to hold on and stay even with the Pacers in the race for the No. 4 seed with four games remaining.
Dwyane Wade says goodbye to Garden: The shooting guard played his final game in the TD Garden and went out with a strong performance, scoring 17 points and dishing out seven assists as the Garden crowd treated him to big ovations over the course of the evening. Danny Ainge and Rich Gotham also honored Wade before the game with a framed photo and piece of the old Garden parquet in a surprise move for the 35-year-old.
"I appreciate that from Danny Ainge and the owners of the team," Wade said. "Like we talked about out there, we’ve had so many battles in the playoffs. I appreciate the respect they showed me as a player to present me with that plaque, present me with a piece of the history of the Celtics. That was so cool. I definitely didn’t expect it at all. I just want to thank them for that gesture."
TURNING POINT
After the Heat trimmed the lead to three with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Celtics responded with a 6-0 run thanks to back-to-back 3s, which pushed the lead back up to nine. That quick run gave Boston enough of a cushion to hold on despite a cold shooting fourth quarter (30.4 percent from the field).
TWO UP
Al Horford: After a night of rest in Brooklyn on Saturday, the veteran was once again a major catalyst to the Celtics success all night. He flirted with posting a triple-double in the first three quarters before sealing the deal with his 10th assist in the fourth. It was the second triple-double of his career and he's now averaging 19.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists over his last five games.
Jayson Tatum in the first quarter: The forward shook off an ugly outing due to illness in Brooklyn and set the tone offensively for the Celtics in the opening minutes. He made four of his first six shots and scored 11 points in the first eight minutes of the game on his way to 19 points on the night.
TWO DOWN
Celtics 2-3 zone offense: The Heat went to this defensive look early and often in the first half after Boston’s hot offensive start and the Celtics had no answer for it, especially when Irving was not on the floor. Boston’s second unit struggled with picking certain areas to attack and another shot block rim presence (Bam Adebayo) kept Boston out of the paint (28 points on the night)
Terry Rozier: The guard’s offensive struggles continued for the third straight game as he failed to make a field goal until the fourth quarter. Over the past three games, Rozier has scored eight total points over 63 minutes of action while going 2-of-13 from the field.
TOP PLAY
THE HUSTLE ??? pic.twitter.com/thWWpuq8HZ
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 1, 2019
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
Kyrie’s defense is not in playoff form: The point guard showed no ill effects of his sore back on the offensive end with his 25-point night, but his lack of defensive focus was on display in spurts for most of the night. He was late on closeouts, was bullied in isolation by bigger guards and those missteps helped the Heat trim down a 23-point first quarter lead down to single digits as the game progressed. The Pacers made it clear on Friday night that Irving is going to be a regular target for them on the defensive end and now it’s up to the All-Star to take the target off his back and show some fight as the stakes go up ahead of the postseason.
The Celtics are probably going to see a lot of 2-3 zone defense this postseason against their bench unit: The Heat already specialize in a lot of 2-3 zone but given how much trouble the Celtics have had in it over the past two games, it would not surprise me to see the Pacers and Bucks (in the second round) experiment with it plenty in short stretches during the postseason to try to keep Boston’s offense out of rhythm. The C’s second unit has struggled with shot selection all year long and this type of zone is the exact kind of bait that should lull them into questionable decision making. Boston has the shooters that are capable of breaking it up, the question is whether they will find the right shots in order to do so. Monday night was another tough night on that front.
