BSJ Game Report: Celtics 143, Heat 110 - Blistering Boston offense burns Miami

Everything you need to know about the Celtics win over the Heat, with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

Boston went nearly nine minutes without missing in the first quarter, fueled by Kristaps Porzingis, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown, to take a 13-point lead after one. The second quarter was played even, with both teams scoring 35. Boston kept up the scoring but clamped down defensively to extend the lead to 23. The lead got up to 34 and it was garbage time after that. The Celtics swept the road trip and won their 15th road game of the season, the most in the NBA.

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Handling their business: They came into this game focused and ready to fight. Miami never threw the big haymaker that I thought they’d throw at the start of this game. Boston just came out and hit the Heat with great pace and they worked the Porzingis mismatch to perfection early on. 

- Big Porzingis game (before the ankle injury): This might have been a statement game, but not because of the blowout. The statement Boston made to Miami and Erik Spoelstra was that Porzingis is the answer to whatever defense you’re going to try. More on that separately. 

- Hot shooting: The Celtics shot 63.7% (51-80) from the field and 55% from 3 (22-40). The overall field goal percentage is 6.9% better than their previous high, and the 3-point shooting is second only to the 57.1% versus Indiana on November 1. They split the 2-pointers and 3-pointers evenly, shooting 72.5% from inside the arc. Miami is the Heat but Boston was hot, hot, hot. 

TURNING POINT 

Miami went on a 15-7 run and got the Celtics lead down to seven, but Boston closed 17-9 to get the lead up to 13. This was an important answer and a decent close to a quarter for the first time in a couple of games. The Celtics built on that in a good third quarter to put it away.

THINGS I LIKED

- Rebounding: I’m starting here because I think this is where the blowout really happened. Boston did a great job limiting Miami to one shot, giving up just 13 second chance points, and a few of those coming in garbage time. According to Cleaning The Glass, Miami’s offensive rebound rate was only 20.8%, 20th percentile for this season. 

They weren’t scoring on most of their possessions if Miami didn't make the shot. That made it impossible for them to keep up with a Celtics team that could barely miss. 

- Defense (mostly): There was a stretch in the second quarter where it disappeared for a while, but I thought it was, as the parenthetical remark would indicate, mostly pretty good in this game. They had stretches where I’d even say it was elite. I especially loved the stretch where Jaylen Brown stole a pass in the backcourt for a dunk, and then Derrick White followed it up with a chase-down, rear-view swat. 

- Kristaps Porzingis: The good news is the ankle seems fine. He went back to the bench and afterward said he could have returned to the game if they needed. He’s a difference-maker. 

- Jayson Tatum: If only he hit one more shot, he wouldn’t have been the only non-garbage time player to shoot less than 50%. Not a big deal though, as he attacked nicely, got to the line 10 times, and grabbed eight rebounds. He finished with 26 points. 

- Jaylen Brown: The 18 points don’t stand out, but the 63.6% shooting, five assists, and three steals do. He had three turnovers, a couple of them early while trying to force-feed Porzingis.

One thing I really enjoyed is after two heat checks from him, Brown actually stopped with the settling and started moving the ball. He found Luke Kornett for a couple of alley-oops as part of an 8-0 run to get the lead up to 24. 

- Luke Kornet: With Porzingis out, he did a great job making himself available in the right spots to help Boston slam the door on Miami.  

- Jrue Holiday & Derrick White: I’m putting them together because they had similarly great games. A combined 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists is a hell of a game from the starting backcourt on a night like this. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

I’m leaving this one out tonight. I think the ebbs and flows of the game are natural, so I won’t get too bent out of shape about that second-quarter lull. That's mostly because they answered it so well. If they answer every dip in a game like they did tonight, they’ll be almost impossible to beat. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- This might be Boston’s best shot-generation game of the season

Let’s look at this shot chart for a minute. 

Look at this shot distribution: 

• 16 restricted area

• 12 paint/non-restricted

• 12 mid-range

• 8 right corner

• 5 left corner

• 27 above the break

Look at the shot plot and you’ll see a pretty even distribution around top of the 3-point line as well.

We can maybe quibble about trying to get a couple more 3-pointers from the corners, but we also have to accept that Boston’s style of play makes them naturally take a bunch of above-the-break 3-pointers due to the pick-and-pops with Porzingis and Al Horford, pull-ups in transition, and tap-backs on offensive rebounds. 

We can chalk some of this up to the make/miss league concept, but generating these kinds of looks will more often than not lead to good shooting numbers. Yes, these are absurd shooting numbers, but when a team like Boston gets hot while moving the ball like this (they finished with 35 assists), there will be a lot of hot nights. 

I’ll repeat the previous stat: Boston split the 2s and 3s evenly, and within that split, they got some great shots. 

We’ve seen games where it’s clear Boston had chances to take better shots but they settle for 3-pointers while saying they were “good looks.” This game shows the difference between getting good looks and generating them. Boston’s offense created those opportunities, and that's why Miami had no chance in this game. This was more than just a hot shooting night. Boston built that hot night by putting in the work. 

Next up: The Celtics kick off a seven-game homestand Saturday night in Boston.