Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker and Celtics send Miami packing
Miami came in with a homewrecking reputation. The Heat was the first road team to win in Milwaukee and Toronto this year — the latter on Tuesday night.
And when the Celtics fell behind by 11 points in the second quarter last night, the locals appeared headed down a familiar path. Ultimately, they remain undefeated at home.
By the time Jaylen Brown had hit his sixth 3-pointer with just under six minutes left last night, though, the threat was cleared away. The Celtics beat Miami, 112-93, with the wing forward scoring a season-high 31 points — one shy of tying his career high. Brown also spent most of his night chasing and being chased by Miami’s Jimmy Butler.
The latter, who has led the Heat’s hot start, led both sides with 37 points and six 3-pointers.
The Celtics scorched the Heat with five third quarter 3-pointers, including three from Jaylen Brown, and carried an 82-69 lead into the fourth after leading by as many as 16 points.
Brown had 24 points, to go along with another 22 from Walker after three quarters, and it was Carsen Edwards’ turn to fire up a run. The rookie guard hit two free throws and one of his quick-release threes as part of a quarter-opening 7-0 run for the Celtics’ first 20-point (89-69) lead of the night.
And when the Heat responded with 3-pointers from Kelly Olynyk and Justise Winslow, Robert Williams dunked off a Tatum lob.
The Celtics exchanged points from there, with Brown adding another 3-pointer to his total. Walker hit his fifth and sixth 3-pointers on the end of an 8-0 Celtics run for a 110-87 lead that put the game to rest.
The Celtics started cold, fell behind by as many as 11 points, and thanks to a 24-4 third quarter run were able to take a 52-44 halftime lead, with Walker leading the way with 17 first half points.
And after the Celtics ran off the first four points of the third quarter, the Celtics struck again at the mid-quarter mark, with Walker and Brown triggering an 8-0 burst with back-to-back 3-pointers.
The burst gave them a 68-52 lead, with Butler scoring five points in an ensuing 7-0 Miami run.
Butler exacted more damage two minutes later, scoring every point in a 5-0 Miami burst, but this time the Celtics responded with a flurry of 3-pointers – one from Semi Ojeleye and back-to-back corner bombs from Brown for an 80-67 lead.
Brad Stevens, asked before the game about Miami’s surprising early run, mentioned one name.
“Jimmy Butler.”
And sure enough, when the Heat took an early edge in the form of a 28-20 lead at the end of the first quarter, the all-star forward had the most to do with it.
He scored 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the first 12 minutes as the Celtics got off to yet another rocky start despite eight early points from Walker.
Miami took its first 10-point lead on its first basket of the second quarter — a Herro 3-pointer — and went up by 11 before the Celtics finally found some flow.
Tatum had a hand in the first eight points of a 14-2 run, including a 3-pointer and fast break drive, followed by his assist on a Walker 3-pointer.
The Celtics took a brief 40-39 lead, lost it on an Adabayo, and took it back again on a pair of Walker free throws.
The Celtics had picked up their defensive intensity by now, and Tatum made it pay off with a corner three.
The run now extended to 24-4, with Walker scoring again and Brown hitting a three from the corner.
Theis’ conversion off a Walker feed gave the Celtics a 52-44 halftime lead.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2qirCrg
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