BSJ Game Report: Celtics 103, Heat 85 - C's start slow, but dominate second half

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

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics started ice cold from 3, but a late run kept the game within six heading into the second quarter. That run continued throughout most of the second quarter, but a late Heat run cut the 16-point lead to nine at halftime. Jayson Tatum took over the third, dropping 20 to extend Boston’s lead to 23, and they cruised from there. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Slow start, but dominant after: The first quarter had me wondering just how hung over the Celtics were from their Super Bowl party. Turns out it was just a slow start. They shot 6-25 in the first, 2-18 from 3, scoring just 18 points. Boston then went berzerk for 70 points in the second and third to break this game open. 

- Tatum’s monster second half: Tatum was 0-5 in the first, only hitting a couple of free throws. Boston’s dominance with him on the bench kept him off the floor for all but 4:23 of the second. He went into halftime with nine points but finished the game with 33. 

- Mediocre Miami: They didn’t have Tyler Herro or Jaime Jaquez, so that took some of the scoring punch away, but even with them Miami didn’t have much of a chance. They looked very mediocre on their way to 31-92 shooting and just 11-45 from 3. Bam Adebayo had 22 and 12, and even that was lost in a sea of grossness. 

TURNING POINT 

The Celtics went on an 18-0 run in the second quarter to flip the score after a tough first quarter. Miami made a couple of small runs after that, but nothing that seriously threatened Boston. 

THINGS I LIKED

Playing fast in the non-Tatum minutes: It might get lost after the dominant third by Tatum, but Boston flipped this game with Tatum on the bench. It was 24-18 Miami when he sat to start the second, but 42-32 Boston when he checked back in. The Celtics turned up the defensive intensity and scored nine of their 14 fast break points in the quarter. 

Jayson Tatum: Tatum acknowledged after the game that his end to the second quarter was a big reason Miami went on a 7-0 run to head into halftime. Maybe he felt he had to make up for that in the third, when he dropped 20 points but also defended well. It was a complete domination. More on that quarter separately.

Sam Hauser: He had 12 points in the second quarter and was part of Boston flipping a double-digit deficit into a double-digit lead. 

Payton Pritchard: He didn't score a ton, but he had five rebounds, six assists, and two steals in that monster second-quarter run to give Boston control. 

“Once we put him in, I thought he picked up the ball pressure and picked up the deflections and he spearheaded that unit just kind of being a little bit more active,” Joe Mazzulla said. “He can do it with scoring, but he could also do it doing other stuff … he just can impact the game in so many different ways. He’s just special.”

Al Horford: A wonderful, steady game for Horford, who finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocked shots. 

Kristaps Porzingis: He had a rough night from deep, shooting 1-6, but he got anything he wanted inside the arc to finish with 17 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and two blocked shots. 

This shot from Derrick White: 

It wouldn't be a Celtics game in Miami if White didn't do something ridiculous

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

I have one thing, but I’m going to save it for my take down below. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- They still have to finish quarters better.

I think Mazzulla was right to harp on this after the game. The Celtics were up 16 but gave up a 7-0 run to go into halftime up only nine. 

Here’s what he said: 

“Those are the things that when we're sitting here and we lose a close game, and everyone focuses on the fourth quarter and the last minute and a half and the last shot and all that crap, and you lose the second quarter 7-0 because you don't execute the two-for-one, and you stab in the back court, and you give up three plays. That stuff can cost you more than what happens in the fourth quarter, but when you win, no one wants to talk about them. 

“We just have to have a heightened awareness to the details of closing out quarters. That, to me, is the biggest difference between winning and losing, and we got away with it today. Obviously, we’re not going to play perfect basketball, but I thought the difference between that 7-0 run and the second half was we just didn't let up. We got back, we got it to 13, they call a time out, and then we kept building from there. So, just having that sustained success, but that 7-0 run is why we sit here and talk about what happens at the end of close games.”

A lot of other teams might have been able to build on that success in the second half. The Celtics came out and dominated the third quarter, so it ended up not mattering, but in that moment, the pressure was on Boston to come out strong and make up for the run they gave up. 

So Mazzulla is 100% right to make note of this after the game. Those little runs can be critical against better teams and in the playoffs. They can’t let these end-of-quarter runs happen. 

Next up: The Celtics come home to face Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in their final game before the All-Star break.