Tatum has 26 points and Celtics withstand late rally to beat Heat

MIAMI (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 26 points, 10 rebounds and 9 helps and the Boston Celtics stood up to a late rally to beat the Miami Heat 110-106 on Sunday.

Kristaps Porzingis had 25 points, Jaylen Brown had 20 points and Jrue Holiday scored 15 for Boston, which struck 16 of 39 3-point efforts.

“Today was fun, we have a lot of history with this team. Last time we came here we smacked them, so we knew it would be a closer game,” Tatum stated of Boston’s 33-point win in Miami Jan. 25. “They came to play and we enjoy being part of games like that. Everybody’s being competitive.”

The Celtics have actually won all 3 matches with the Heat this season and have actually won 6 of the last 7 video games versus them. The loss can be found in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals last season, when Boston required the choosing video game after losing the very first 3.

“Late-game execution, you’ve got to set the table,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla stated. “I think our guys did that.”

Tyler Herro had 22 of his 24 points in the 2nd half, Bam Adebayo scored 22 and Duncan Robinson and Caleb Martin ended up with 15 points each for the Heat — who were short-handed to begin the video game and much more so by the end.

The Heat lacked leading scorer Jimmy Butler, who was given a leave of lack since of the death of a member of the family.

Miami lost Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson to injuries. Rozier, who ended up with 13 points, landed awkwardly on his best leg after driving to the basket midway through the 3rd quarter, plainly preferring his knee. Both gamers will have MRI tests on Monday, coach Erik Spoelstra stated.

“It’s tough to see guys like that go down,” Robinson stated. “And then Jimmy dealing with what he’s dealing with is unfortunate, to put it lightly.”

Richardson left in the 2nd quarter since of an ideal shoulder injury. He dropped to the flooring in discomfort after his not successful effort to strip Tatum of the ball.

“I felt my shoulder pop out on the floor and then it popped back in laying on the ground, so thank goodness for that,” Richardson stated. “I’ll know more tomorrow.”

Robinson likewise favoured his left shoulder after Brown pressed him off into the stands when both twisted for position early in the 4th quarter. Brown and Robinson exchanged words and Brown was evaluated an ostentatious 1 nasty while Robinson got required an individual nasty.

“I just thought it was a dirty play, to be honest with you. … Just thought it was dangerous, unnecessary and excessive,” Robinson stated.

Brown considered it 2 groups playing hard.

“There was no issue from me. I think he knew exactly what he was trying to do, trying to get tangled up,” Brown stated. “(The authorities) called the nasty however he was still attempting to hold on.”

Miami rallied from a 15-point deficit in the 3rd quarter and suffice to 106-104 on Herro’s 3-pointer with 1:49 staying. But Porzingis and Tatum each transformed 2 complimentary tosses to protect the win.

“I thought our group showed a tremendous amount of grit in that second half,” Spoelstra stated. “There were a lot of things that weren’t necessarily going our way, including the injuries. To really fight and claw back and get this game on the ropes, it’s a credit to how hard guys were playing.”

UP NEXT

Celtics: Visit Brooklyn on Tuesday night.

Heat: Begin a six-game roadway stretch at Milwaukee on Tuesday night.