NBA – Gordon Hayward stars as Boston Celtics down Miami Heat 101-109

When Boston Celtics hit the road for an away tilt against Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena, they knew that not only they were facing a team with the joint best home record in the NBA, but the task was a tad harder for the visitors due to the fact that the Greens were without Jayson Tatum, arguably the most consistent player for the Eastern Conference giants this season and with an unmatched two-way approach in the team.

 

But Celtics underlined their credentials, at least for the deep run in the Conference playoffs, as Brad Stevens and his men came out unscathed from AmericanAirlines Arena after beating the Heat 101-109.

Be it the defense or the offense, everything clicked for the Celtics right from the tip-off. The visitors buried five-three-pointers in the first nine minutes, with Miami missing all their shots from beyond the arc, a sort of anomaly considering Heat is one of the best shooting teams in the league. That 15-0 advantage put the Celtics in control of the game, with the visitors enjoying as much as a 13-point lead in the first quarter. And though, Heat improved in the second quarter and even went ahead in the game, Celtics went into the break with a 53-48 lead, and never surrendered the advantage in the second half.

“We had to change our attack at halftime,” Cleitcs head-coach Brad Stevens said after the game. “Guys did a really good job of attacking it and then once we got a comfortable rhythm against it we were a little bit better.”

Gordon Hayward was sensational on the night, as he dropped a game-high 29 points, and also had nine boards. The former Utah Jazz superstar was almost infallible, scoring on 10-for-14 shooting. Jaylen Brown was equally impressive as he had the game’s second-best efforts with 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting, including 4-for-8 from 3-point range.

For Miami, Goran Dragic scored 23 points from the bench, while Bam Adebayo had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Jimmy Butler ended the game with 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Celtics return to their base for the next assignment and will entertain the fallen giant Golden State Warriors at TD Garden on Friday. Heat, meanwhile, will face Orlando Magic on Saturday.