The Boston Celtics were embarrassed on their home court last season by the Miami Heat, as they lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden. On Thursday night, the C's exacted a little revenge by embarrassing the Heat in Miami, drubbing them 143-110.
Miami's defense, which is known for being tough and disruptive, was no match for Boston's offense. The Celtics shot a season-high 63.7% from the field and none of their starters had a field goal percentage worse than 46.6%.
But, how did the Green Team go into enemy territory and thoroughly expose a rival defense? According to Celtics star Jayson Tatum, it took some learning and intentionality.
Jayson Tatum gets real
“I mean, we just learned from last year,” Tatum told TNT in a postgame interview. “Getting so close and not getting over that hump, and just giving a lot of credit to the guys. We got Jrue Holiday, [Kristaps Porzingis] and they make a world of difference and we're just really intentional about what we're trying to do on the court more often than not, and it's showing.”
In the offseason, Boston's front office took a big swing by trading multiple key players like Marcus Smart, Grant Williams, and Robert Williams III to land All-Stars like Porzingis and Holiday. A team that's one game short of the NBA Finals the previous season usually doesn't make as many significant moves as the C's did this summer, yet the entire Celtics organization has high expectations. For them, as well as Boston fans, it's Banner No. 18 or bust.
And speaking of die-hard Celtics fans, Tatum gave them a shoutout for their support on the road after the Thursday night victory.
“Man, these Celtics fans, they travel,” Tatum said. “We hear ‘let's go Celtics' in more than half the arenas we go to. Shout out to our fans, they travel and give us that extra energy and we just love competing on the road.”
The C's are now tied for the most road wins in the NBA, as they have 15 of them along with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Yet, Boston has performed even better at TD Garden. The Celtics won their first 20 home games until losing to the Denver Nuggets 102-100 on January 19, which still gives them a stellar 20-1 home record. They're 35-10 overall and currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings.
Heat's struggles continue vs. Celtics
As for Miami, the new year hasn't been kind. The Heat are 5-8 in 2024 and have lost five games in a row. At 24-21, they're in 7th place in the East but still in the playoff picture.
Following the blowout loss, Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra admitted that his squad was completely outplayed by the C's, per ClutchPoints reporter Zachary Weinberger.
“We faced a very potent offensive team that's been doing this for several months now,” he said. “It was a humbling night, that’s for sure. They put us in our place tonight and you do have to respect the body of work that they've done so far in the season. They're the number one team in the league with that record and they're doing it on both ends of the court.”
Heat star Jimmy Butler, who had 17 points in the loss, sounded off about his team's frustrating losing streak as well.
“Before you can even start thinking of winning again, just feel like everybody gotta get back to having fun again,” Butler said. “Yes, losing isn't fun and winning is. But if we aren't playing with some high energy and, you know, smiling and all that stuff, it could get a lot worse.”
Despite the Heat's struggles, it's worth noting that they were in a similar spot during the 2022-23 season. They finished 44-38 overall and were eighth in the Eastern Conference, yet still managed to make it all the way to the 2023 NBA Finals before falling in five games to the Nuggets.
The Celtics can't afford to underestimate Miami again, and they clearly didn't on Thursday. They'll see Miami again soon, as the C's will return to Kaseya Center for an afternoon game on February 11.
Boston moving forward
Regardless of their South Beach rivals, the Celtics will continue to focus on improving themselves. They're 7-3 in their last 10 games but have a challenging four-game stretch coming up. The C's will host the Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Indiana Pacers, and Los Angeles Lakers—who are all playoff teams at the moment.
Postseason success is the real goal for the 2023-24 C's, yet Tatum and company are committed to establishing good habits in the regular season.
“You just try and get better every day,” Tatum said in his postgame interview. “No matter if we win by 30 or two, it just counts as one win. So, we still got a long way to go.”
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