Final: Celtics 110, Heat 105 - Horford triple-double helps C's hold off Heat

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.

The Celtics now head to Miami for a rematch on Wednesday night.   

First Half Notes

• Celtics offense getting trapped a lot early but taking advantage of finding open man in the corner for 3s


• Tatum showing some nice aggression in transition with back-to-back strong pushes that resulted in easy buckets


• Heat offense is very sloppy early on, not a lot of cohesion, C’s playing tough physically


• Celtics offense open with a 20-4 run with scoring leading the way with eight points.


• Heat miss 10 of their first 11 shots, including all seven from downtown as C’s have protected the hoop.


• Tatum with 11 of C’s first 36 points showing a nice mix of inside and outside touch.


• Boston goes 55 percent from field and 3 in the first quarter but main key was limiting Heat to just 31 percent shooting, five turnovers and no makes from 3.


• Second quarter offense stalls for the most part for oston outside of some hot shooting from 3 from Kyrie


• Heat has been reliant on the 2-3 zone a lot and C’s are still very hesitant on when to attack it appriopriately. Inevitably, they are settling for al to of long looks.


• Baynes picks up four fouls in 11 minutes, which earns him an early seat on the bench. Stevens goes with Yabusele/Theis over Williams as bigs

• Kyrie Irving will be back after a night of rest for a sore back, while Al Horford is expected to play after missing Saturday's game with a sore knee. Jaylen Brown was also a late addition to the injury report, as he was called questionable with back spasms.


• The Heat will be very shorthanded on the wing as Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow both did not make the trip to Boston. Without those guys, they have focused on playing bigger in recent weeks with Hassan Whiteside coming off the bench.


• The Celtics will play a back-to-back set with the Heat over the next three days. Each team has won a game with the season series.


• The Heat have won six of their last eight games but remain just one game ahead of the Magic for the No. 8 spot in the East playoffs.