Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 29 points and Jayson Tatum contributed 20 points and 12 rebounds to power the host Boston Celtics in a 122-92 rout of the Miami Heat on Monday night.
Marcus Smart added 16 points and seven assists and Al Horford contributed 14 points and nine boards for the Celtics. Boston won for the fourth time in five games and improved to 2-0 versus the Heat this season.
Miami’s Max Strus had 27 points while going 9-of-17 from 3-point distance. Caleb Martin scored 14 points, Tyler Herro added 13 and Bam Adebayo finished with 12 in the loss. Gabe Vincent amassed 10 points and nine assists.
It was the second straight loss for the Heat after they won nine of their previous 11 games.
Miami struggled to score with All-Star forward Jimmy Butler out due to a right big toe injury. All-Star guard Kyle Lowry (personal) and forward P.J. Tucker (knee) were also among a handful of players who sat out for the Heat.
Boston guard Dennis Schroder played after being listed on the team’s injury report with right Achilles tendinopathy. He scored four points in 17 minutes.
The Celtics led 54-45 at halftime and broke the game open with a 40-point third quarter. The hosts stretched their lead to as many as 32 points in a non-competitive fourth quarter.
The Celtics shot out to a 27-14 lead after one quarter and held a 31-16 advantage after Tatum’s jumper at 10:43 of the second. The Heat climbed back into the game with a 16-1 run to tie it at 32 on Strus’ 3-pointer with 6:37 left before halftime.
Brown did much of the damage for the Celtics in the third quarter, scoring 12 points as Boston hit 14 of 22 shots (63.6 percent).
Miami plays the second of six straight games away from home against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. Boston caps its two-game homestand vs. the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
