Tatum scores 26 points, Celtics embarrass Heat in East finals rematch, 143-110
MIAMI (AP) Boston coach Joe Mazzulla is a movie buff who made big news last season when revealing that he watches “The Town” several times a week. And he recently watched the 1993 crime drama “A Bronx Tale,” another movie that earned his two-thumbs-up rating.
One of the key lines from that movie: “Nobody cares."
That perfectly summed up how he felt about blowing out the Heat.
Jayson Tatum scored 26 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 19 before spraining his left ankle and the Celtics made 22 3-pointers on the way to routing the reeling Heat 143-110 on Thursday night, sending Miami to its fifth straight loss.
“This game was really good, but it means nothing at all in the grand scheme of things if we don't take the lessons that we need to and apply it to the next game,” Mazzulla said. “So, we'll enjoy it until we get to the plane and then it's on to the next one.”
There was much to enjoy. The 143 points were the most Boston ever scored against Miami, and the 33-point margin represented Boston’s most-lopsided win over Miami in 172 meetings between the franchises, including playoffs. The Celtics shot 64% and won the rebound battle 47-31.
Jaylen Brown scored 18 points, Jrue Holiday had 17 and Derrick White 15 for the NBA-leading Celtics. They improved to 35-10 and are 2-0 this season against the team that beat them in last season’s Eastern Conference finals.
“We just learned from last year, getting so close and not getting over that hump,” Tatum said.
Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro each scored 19 points for Miami, which got 17 from Jimmy Butler. The Heat are in their longest skid since dropping six in a row in March 2021.
“I felt like there was a lot of miscommunication throughout the game, defensive lapses, a whole bunch of things that went on through the game that we didn't correct and we paid for,” Adebayo said.
The Heat were 8 1/2-point underdogs at game time according to FanDuel Sportsbook. They hadn’t been that been of an underdog in their own building since Feb. 27, 2019, when Golden State was favored by 9 1/2 points in what became a 126-125 Miami win.
This one didn’t have that sort of ending for Miami. Not even close.
Boston wasted little time showing why oddsmakers did what they did. An 18-7 run over a three-minute stretch of the opening quarter gave the Celtics a 40-25 lead, and Boston was off and running. It was 77-64 Boston at the half, the Celtics in total control.
And it only got worse for Miami.
The Heat came into the night giving up an average of 110.5 points this season; Boston had 111 with a minute left in the third quarter and went into the fourth leading 113-90. Even including playoffs, it was only the fourth time in Heat history a Miami team allowed that many points through the first 36 minutes of a game.
Miami has trailed by at least 24 points in three of its last five games - 37 at Toronto on Jan. 17, then 24 at Orlando on Sunday and the biggest lead Thursday for Boston was 34. And those three games wound up as the three most-lopsided losses of this Heat season.
“What went wrong was we faced a very potent offensive team that's been doing this for several months now,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It was a humbling night. That's for sure. They put us in our place tonight.”
UP NEXT
Celtics: Host Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.
Heat: At New York on Saturday.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Kristaps Porzingis vs. Bam Adebayo (Derrick White gains possession) | ||
| 11:56 |  | Jrue Holiday turnover (back court violation) | ||
| 11:35 | | +2 | Terry Rozier makes two point driving finger roll layup (Jimmy Butler assists) | 0-2 |
| 11:18 | | +2 | Derrick White makes two point driving finger roll layup | 2-2 |
| 11:03 | | Jimmy Butler misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:59 | | Jayson Tatum defensive rebound | ||
| 10:53 | | Kristaps Porzingis misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:49 | | Jaylen Brown offensive rebound | ||
| 10:43 | | Haywood Highsmith shooting foul (Jayson Tatum draws the foul) | ||
| 10:43 | | +1 | Jayson Tatum makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 3-2 |
| 10:43 | | +1 | Jayson Tatum makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 4-2 |
| 10:25 | | Jimmy Butler turnover (lost ball) (Jaylen Brown steals) | ||
| 10:20 | | Jrue Holiday misses three point running pullup jump shot | ||
| 10:15 | | Tyler Herro defensive rebound | ||
| 10:09 | | Haywood Highsmith misses two point running jump shot | ||
| 10:05 | | Jrue Holiday defensive rebound | ||
| 9:51 | | Derrick White misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:48 | | Terry Rozier defensive rebound | ||
| 9:43 | | Terry Rozier misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 9:40 | | Derrick White defensive rebound | ||
| 9:37 | | Haywood Highsmith shooting foul (Jayson Tatum draws the foul) | ||
| 9:37 | | +1 | Jayson Tatum makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 5-2 |
| 9:37 | | +1 | Jayson Tatum makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 6-2 |
| 9:29 | | +3 | Tyler Herro makes three point pullup jump shot (Terry Rozier assists) | 6-5 |
| 9:11 | | Bam Adebayo blocks Kristaps Porzingis's two point alley-oop dunk | ||
| 9:07 | | Derrick White offensive rebound | ||
| 9:03 | | Jaylen Brown misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:00 | | Derrick White offensive rebound | ||
| 8:59 | | +2 | Derrick White makes two point putback layup | 8-5 |
| 8:49 | | +3 | Haywood Highsmith makes three point jump shot (Tyler Herro assists) | 8-8 |
| 8:34 | | +2 | Kristaps Porzingis makes two point turnaround hook shot (Jaylen Brown assists) | 10-8 |
| 8:16 | | Tyler Herro misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 8:12 | | Kristaps Porzingis defensive rebound | ||
| 8:08 | | +3 | Derrick White makes three point running jump shot (Jaylen Brown assists) | 13-8 |
| 7:54 | | +2 | Bam Adebayo makes two point jump shot (Tyler Herro assists) | 13-10 |
| 7:36 | | +2 | Jayson Tatum makes two point driving layup (Jrue Holiday assists) | 15-10 |
| 7:24 | | +2 | Tyler Herro makes two point pullup jump shot | 15-12 |
| 7:12 | | +2 | Jaylen Brown makes two point driving floating jump shot | 17-12 |
| 6:55 | | Terry Rozier misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:51 | | Jayson Tatum defensive rebound | ||
| 6:42 | | Jaylen Brown turnover (bad pass) (Bam Adebayo steals) | ||
| 6:37 | | Tyler Herro misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 6:35 | | Celtics defensive rebound | ||
| 6:35 | | Heat 60 second timeout | ||
| 6:13 | | +3 | Jaylen Brown makes three point jump shot | 20-12 |
| 5:48 | | +2 | Jimmy Butler makes two point turnaround jump shot | 20-14 |
| 5:42 | | Jaylen Brown turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 5:31 | | Tyler Herro misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:28 | | Derrick White defensive rebound | ||
| 5:20 | | Jaylen Brown turnover (bad pass) (Caleb Martin steals) | ||
| 4:55 | | Tyler Herro misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:52 | | Caleb Martin offensive rebound | ||
| 4:49 | | +2 | Terry Rozier makes two point driving finger roll layup (Caleb Martin assists) | 20-16 |
| 4:49 | | Al Horford defensive goaltending violation | ||
| 4:32 | | +2 | Kristaps Porzingis makes two point pullup jump shot (Derrick White assists) | 22-16 |
| 4:21 | | +2 | Bam Adebayo makes two point jump shot (Terry Rozier assists) | 22-18 |
| 4:04 | | +2 | Kristaps Porzingis makes two point jump shot (Sam Hauser assists) | 24-18 |
| 3:50 | | Caleb Martin misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 3:47 | | Jaylen Brown defensive rebound | ||
| 3:44 | | +3 | Jaylen Brown makes three point running pullup jump shot | 27-18 |
| 3:44 | | Heat 60 second timeout | ||
| 3:23 | | Thomas Bryant misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:20 | | Al Horford defensive rebound | ||
| 3:09 | | Duncan Robinson shooting foul (Kristaps Porzingis draws the foul) | ||
| 3:09 | | +1 | Kristaps Porzingis makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 28-18 |
| 3:09 | | +1 | Kristaps Porzingis makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 29-18 |
| 2:43 | | +3 | Duncan Robinson makes three point jump shot (Thomas Bryant assists) | 29-21 |
| 2:30 | | +3 | Kristaps Porzingis makes three point jump shot (Jayson Tatum assists) | 32-21 |
| 2:04 | | Caleb Martin misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:01 | | Al Horford defensive rebound | ||
| 2:00 | | +2 | Jayson Tatum makes two point running dunk (Al Horford assists) | 34-21 |
| 1:44 | | Jimmy Butler misses two point layup | ||
| 1:42 | | Thomas Bryant offensive rebound | ||
| 1:35 | | +2 | Jimmy Butler makes two point pullup jump shot (Thomas Bryant assists) | 34-23 |
| 1:18 | | +3 | Al Horford makes three point jump shot (Kristaps Porzingis assists) | 37-23 |
| 1:05 | | +2 | Tyler Herro makes two point pullup jump shot | 37-25 |
| 0:55 | | +3 | Kristaps Porzingis makes three point jump shot (Payton Pritchard assists) | 40-25 |
| 0:46 | | Al Horford shooting foul (Caleb Martin draws the foul) | ||
| 0:46 | | +1 | Caleb Martin makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 40-26 |
| 0:46 | | +1 | Caleb Martin makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 40-27 |
| 0:33 | | Jayson Tatum misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:31 | | Bam Adebayo defensive rebound | ||
| 0:25 | | +2 | Duncan Robinson makes two point driving finger roll layup (Bam Adebayo assists) | 40-29 |
| 0:10 | | +2 | Sam Hauser makes two point turnaround jump shot (Al Horford assists) | 42-29 |
| 0:00 | | End of period |
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:34 | | Caleb Martin misses two point jump shot | ||
| 11:30 | | Payton Pritchard defensive rebound | ||
| 11:24 | | Jayson Tatum misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 11:21 | | Luke Kornet offensive rebound | ||
| 11:19 | | Payton Pritchard misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:16 | | Josh Richardson defensive rebound | ||
| 11:00 | | +2 | Josh Richardson makes two point pullup jump shot | 42-31 |
| 10:34 | | +2 | Payton Pritchard makes two point pullup jump shot | 44-31 |
| 10:20 | | Caleb Martin misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 10:18 | | Jayson Tatum defensive rebound | ||
| 10:15 | | Duncan Robinson shooting foul (Luke Kornet draws the foul) | ||
| 10:15 | | +1 | Luke Kornet makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 45-31 |
| 10:15 | | +1 | Luke Kornet makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 46-31 |
| 10:01 | | Al Horford blocks Bam Adebayo's two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 9:59 | | Al Horford defensive rebound | ||
| 9:53 | | Jrue Holiday turnover (lost ball) (Terry Rozier steals) | ||
| 9:48 | | +3 | Terry Rozier makes three point running pullup jump shot | 46-34 |
| 9:31 | | Jayson Tatum misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 9:28 | | Bam Adebayo defensive rebound | ||
| 9:20 | | Terry Rozier misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 9:17 | | Luke Kornet defensive rebound | ||
| 9:07 | | +2 | Jayson Tatum makes two point stepback jump shot (Jrue Holiday assists) | 48-34 |
| 8:45 | | +2 | Josh Richardson makes two point pullup jump shot (Caleb Martin assists) | 48-36 |
| 8:29 | | +2 | Al Horford makes two point layup (Luke Kornet assists) | 50-36 |
| 8:19 | | Jrue Holiday personal foul (Duncan Robinson draws the foul) | ||
| 8:08 | | +2 | Bam Adebayo makes two point floating jump shot | 50-38 |
| 7:52 | | +3 | Jrue Holiday makes three point jump shot (Al Horford assists) | 53-38 |
| 7:27 | | +3 | Caleb Martin makes three point jump shot (Duncan Robinson assists) | 53-41 |
| 7:06 | | Jayson Tatum misses two point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 7:03 | | Caleb Martin defensive rebound | ||
| 6:55 | | Caleb Martin misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 6:53 | | Josh Richardson offensive rebound | ||
| 6:52 | | +2 | Josh Richardson makes two point putback layup | 53-43 |
| 6:33 | | +2 | Payton Pritchard makes two point pullup jump shot (Al Horford assists) | 55-43 |
| 6:29 | | Heat 60 second timeout | ||
| 6:18 | | Luke Kornet shooting foul (Thomas Bryant draws the foul) | ||
| 6:18 | | Thomas Bryant misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 6:18 | | Heat offensive rebound | ||
| 6:18 | | +1 | Thomas Bryant makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 55-44 |
| 6:05 | | +3 | Jrue Holiday makes three point jump shot (Derrick White assists) | 58-44 |
| 5:44 | | +3 | Haywood Highsmith makes three point jump shot (Tyler Herro assists) | 58-47 |
| 5:23 | | Jaylen Brown misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:19 | | Haywood Highsmith defensive rebound | ||
| 5:08 | | Derrick White blocks Haywood Highsmith's two point layup | ||
| 5:05 | | Jimmy Butler offensive rebound | ||
| 5:03 | | +2 | Jimmy Butler makes two point putback layup | 58-49 |
| 4:52 | | +2 | Derrick White makes two point driving floating jump shot (Jaylen Brown assists) | 60-49 |
| 4:31 | | +2 | Thomas Bryant makes two point jump shot (Tyler Herro assists) | 60-51 |
| 4:10 | | Derrick White misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:05 | | Jimmy Butler defensive rebound | ||
| 4:00 | | Jimmy Butler misses two point running layup | ||
| 3:59 | | Thomas Bryant offensive rebound | ||
| 3:59 | | +2 | Thomas Bryant makes two point tip dunk | 60-53 |
| 3:59 | | Celtics 60 second timeout | ||
| 3:39 | | +3 | Derrick White makes three point jump shot (Jrue Holiday assists) | 63-53 |
| 3:18 | | +2 | Thomas Bryant makes two point cutting layup (Josh Richardson assists) | 63-55 |
| 3:06 | | Derrick White misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:02 | | Thomas Bryant defensive rebound | ||
| 2:55 | | Josh Richardson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:52 | | Jayson Tatum defensive rebound | ||
| 2:44 | | Jayson Tatum misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:41 | | Celtics offensive rebound | ||
| 2:35 | | +2 | Jaylen Brown makes two point layup (Jayson Tatum assists) | 65-55 |
| 2:25 | | +3 | Tyler Herro makes three point jump shot (Jimmy Butler assists) | 65-58 |
| 2:11 | | Kristaps Porzingis misses two point jump shot | ||
| 2:08 | | Jimmy Butler defensive rebound | ||
| 2:06 | | Haywood Highsmith turnover (bad pass) (Jaylen Brown steals) | ||
| 2:05 | | +2 | Jaylen Brown makes two point driving dunk | 67-58 |
| 1:51 | | Derrick White blocks Tyler Herro's two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 1:47 | | Derrick White defensive rebound | ||
| 1:40 | | Thomas Bryant shooting foul (Jayson Tatum draws the foul) | ||
| 1:40 | | +1 | Jayson Tatum makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 68-58 |
| 1:40 | | +1 | Jayson Tatum makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 69-58 |
| 1:28 | | +2 | Jimmy Butler makes two point driving layup | 69-60 |
| 1:28 | | Jaylen Brown shooting foul (Jimmy Butler draws the foul) | ||
| 1:28 | | +1 | Jimmy Butler makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 69-61 |
| 1:13 | | +3 | Kristaps Porzingis makes three point jump shot (Derrick White assists) | 72-61 |
| 0:55 | | +2 | Bam Adebayo makes two point floating jump shot (Tyler Herro assists) | 72-63 |
| 0:40 | | Haywood Highsmith shooting foul (Jayson Tatum draws the foul) | ||
| 0:40 | | +1 | Jayson Tatum makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 73-63 |
| 0:40 | | +1 | Jayson Tatum makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 74-63 |
| 0:33 | | Al Horford personal foul (Away from play) (Bam Adebayo draws the foul) | ||
| 0:33 | | +1 | Bam Adebayo makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 74-64 |
| 0:33 | | Bam Adebayo misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 0:31 | | Jayson Tatum defensive rebound | ||
| 0:18 | | +3 | Jaylen Brown makes three point jump shot (Al Horford assists) | 77-64 |
| 0:00 | | Bam Adebayo misses two point jump shot | ||
| 0:00 | | Al Horford defensive rebound | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |