BOSTON — Celtics star Jayson Tatum was a catalyst in more ways than one in Boston’s convincing 114-94 victory over the Miami Heat on Sunday afternoon in Game 1 of their playoff series. round.
He played smart, unselfish basketball against Miami’s double teams, recording his first career playoff triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. But as the contest entered its final minute, Tatum also showed toughness, bursting off the floor immediately after being hit by Heat wing Caleb Martin as he went for a rebound. The play initially frightened the audience at TD Garden, but galvanized the Celtics, who wanted to show that they would not let themselves be pushed around by the very physical Heat club.
“It’s playoff basketball, and it’s a physical game against a physical team. It’s going to happen,” Tatum said, adding that he wanted to get up quickly from the fall to show that he doesn’t He wasn’t hurt. “This probably isn’t the last time I get hit like that in this series.”
After the match, Martin said he did not intentionally collide with Tatum and that his momentum simply drove him into the flying Tatum. Replays showed Boston’s Jrue Holiday could have pushed Martin from behind just before the collision. Martin then looked to help Tatum up, but Boston star Jaylen Brown pushed him away before he could. Martin and Brown were called for technical fouls after exchanging words.
As dangerous as the play initially seemed, with Tatum appearing to fall onto his hip — and nearly hitting his head on the hardwood — the Celtics suggested the skirmish could create a rallying effect in the future.
“I was excited about the whole situation,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I enjoyed watching it.”
Center Kristaps Porzingis said: “I think we tied [their physicality]. I do not know if [the Martin collision] It was an accident or not. These kinds of pieces happen. But a little action? I think it’s good for the playoffs. It was fun.”
As far as action goes, the Celtics brought a lot more of it up front. Porzingis said the club — which lacked meaningful games at the end of the regular season after clinching first place in the East with three weeks remaining — talked earlier in the week about not showing any rust and to find a way to start the first game. punch in game 1.
“It was hard for us to maintain that crazy mindset of winning every regular season game. [after clinching the top seed]”, Porzingis said. “But we knew we had the real one soon, and I’m glad we came out of it like we did tonight. This sets the stage for the rest of our journey. »
The message clearly got across, as the Celtics broadcast it early by taking a 14-0 lead before Miami scored its first points.
The Heat began to settle down and recover, but the path to doing so was complicated by Boston’s preference for 3s while most of Miami’s shots were of the 2-point variety.
The floodgates opened in the third when the Celtics, thanks to ample ball movement and spacing on the floor, made seven 3s and outscored the Heat by 17 in the quarter. Through three quarters of play, Boston had made 19 3s to Miami’s five, a 42-point margin behind the arc. Tatum facilitated much of the offense by letting the Heat’s zone attack pressure him with two defenders before quickly returning the ball up the floor to a more open shooter. Porzingis, Derrick White and reserve Sam Hauser each finished with four 3s, while Brown made three. The Celtics led by as many as 34 points early in Game 4, and Boston fans began to wave inside the arena.
The first-round series between the teams — their fourth playoff meeting in five years — is a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference finals, which the Heat won despite being a top-eight seed.
This time, the climb would be even steeper for Miami. Jimmy Butler, the team’s top power forward, injured his right MCL during the play-in round and is expected to miss several weeks. And Terry Rozier, who averaged nearly 20 points per game in the regular season, is out with a neck injury. Those are two huge blows for a Miami unit that was already struggling to score at times.
“It’s clear that Boston controlled this game from the start,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They won the big muscle areas. They definitely won the 3-point line. And most of the areas in between. … We need to do a much better job between now and Wednesday.”