Celtics center Al Horford defends Heat forward Jimmy Butler during Boston’s 95-78 win on Thursday in Miami. Marta Lavandier/Associated Press
MIAMI — The Celtics found themselves as part of a wild reality: Jayson Tatum hadn’t scored a single point in the game yet the Celtics led the Heat by 18 points.
It was a definition of a team victory for Boston as it dispatched Miami 95-78 on Wednesday at FTX Arena. No Celtic scored more than 17 points, but the team still had six players in double-figure scoring.
That’s not exactly the type of offense the Celtics want to run, Boston Coach Ime Udoka said, but they were able to comfortably cruise to victory because of how great their defense was.
“Offensively we want to improve on our numbers,” Udoka said postgame. “We got 40% from 3 and the field, and we’ve got to get that up. But to hold them to 34%, 22% from 3, that’s the defensive blueprint we want to have.”
Tatum’s still navigating his early-season slump as the shooting numbers dipped further after Thursday. He finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, though he shot 3 for 13 from the field.
But there was a silver lining: the fourth quarter. Tatum scored all 10 of his points in the final period, including some nice buckets. The Celtics hope that’s him turning the corner because they need their All-Star to round into form as the season grows older.
There could be some wing minutes available going forward as Josh Richardson (contusion) and Jaylen Brown (hamstring) were banged up Thursday. Udoka said Brown was kept out of the fourth quarter partially for precautionary reasons, but they’ll find out more on the hamstring Friday.
Boston boasts enough depth where it can fill those holes – and it’s hoping the young players can continue to step up. Both Aaron Nesmith and Romeo Langford were two of the Celtics’ best players, contributing on both ends of the court. In what was the basketball version of a fistfight Thursday, both players were efficient offensively.
“It’s great for everybody honestly, on a night when Jayson struggles, other guys step up and played,” Udoka said of the victory. “On a night when (Richardson) is out last minute, other guys can step in and contribute.”
THE CELTICS HAD just about everything going for them after an impressive second quarter. They outscored the Heat 33-9 and ran out in front after finding themselves down early.
But the victory didn’t come without some nervousness. The Heat went on a 10-0 run midway through the third quarter when the Celtics went on a scoring drought of their own. Miami cut it to as little as an eight-point game with still plenty of time left on the clock.
That’s when the Celtics decided to step up – namely, their bench. Langford and Dennis Schröder hit some timely shots, giving the Celtics some much-needed breathing room. By the end of the third quarter, Boston was back up to its original 18-point halftime lead.
It was a tough display of mental fortitude from the Celtics, which hasn’t been a guarantee this season. The Celtics have folded in crunch time – look no further than Monday’s loss to the Bulls – but they instead weathered the Heat’s run.
“We talked about it at halftime, we said they are going to come out swinging,” Udoka said. “… We know they are going to junk it up. Don’t start complaining and we bounced back. So I loved that part of it. Don’t love that it got down to eight and we got a little chippy and it got a little sloppy there, but great job bouncing back.”
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