Around a half hour before tipoff, the Garden was filled.
The energy was palpable.
As starting lineup introductions concluded, a loud “Let’s Go Celtics” chant bellowed throughout the Garden. The fans were ready, and so were the Celtics.
Right from the opening tip, Boston set the tone.
On the first possession of the game, Jayson Tatum drove toward the baseline, attempting a dunk that seemed like it could shake the Zakim Bridge. Although he missed, Tatum grabbed his own rebound and passed to Jaylen Brown, waiting for a wide-open three on the wing.
In the blink of an eye, the lead extended to 9-0 within the first 1:55 of play, prompting Erik Spoelstra to call a timeout before the faint smoke from the pregame flame throwers had fully dissipated.
As the Miami Heat retreated to their bench, somewhat stunned by the sudden onslaught, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck, seated in the owner’s box next to the Celtics’ bench, turned to the crowd and urged them on – things truly felt “Different Here.”
Boston pushed its lead to 14-0 before Miami scored a bucket. And although Miami would cut the lead to five, the damage was done. A fast start was all Boston needed, with the Celtics cruising to a 114-94 victory, leading by as many as 34 and never trailing.
“We came out the right way,” Kristaps Porzingis said postgame. “We were the first ones to punch. We got off to a good start, and from that point on, we just kept it going.”
Six Celtics finished in double figures scoring, with Jayson Tatum leading the way with a 23-point, 10-rebound, and 10-assist triple-double, becoming the first Celtic to record a playoff triple-double since Marcus Smart in a double overtime loss to Toronto in the bubble in 2020.
Bam Adebayo led the way for the Heat with 24 points in the setback.
Here are three takeaways from Boston’s largest win in a playoff opener since 2008.
The margins
Joe Mazzulla has been consistent in his belief that the formula to winning in the playoffs isn’t all that different from what it takes in the regular season – paying close attention to the details and margins of the game. He continued to reiterate that before Game 1.
“I think there is no real difference between the playoffs and the regular season outside of the physicality and, obviously, the chance of your season-ending. I think the hardest things to do are the simple things under higher duress, under more physicality, that’s the biggest thing. The margins become much more important,” Mazzulla said. “The execution, spacing, rebounding, turnovers, all those little things become even more important, along with having to execute to win games. So, I think that’s the biggest thing. What it takes to win in the playoffs is not much different than in the regular season; it’s just with a higher sense of urgency and more physicality.”
The Celtics did all those little things and dominated the margins on Sunday afternoon.
Boston outshot Miami (82-81), attempted more free throws (16-6) and dominated the glass (44-34). Had the Celtics not taken their foot off the gas in the fourth quarter, turning the ball over six times, they would have won the turnover battle as well. Instead, they lost it 10-9.
Overall, the Celtics brought the energy and did a great job taking care of the ball and crashing the glass. Boston snagged 10 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 11 second-chance points.
Letting it fly
Although the margins certainly contributed to the win, this game was decided on the perimeter.
The Celtics only made one more shot than the Heat… so how did they win by 20?
The three-point line.
Boston shot 22-of-49 (44.9%) from deep, and its 22 triples tied a franchise record for a playoff game. On the other hand, Miami shot 12-of-37 (32.4%), giving Boston a 66-36 (+30) advantage on the perimeter.
Every Celtic who saw action sunk at least one triple, marking a historic feat. Boston joined a select group, becoming just the fifth team in NBA playoff history to have seven players make multiple three-pointers in a single game. Contributions came from all corners of the roster, with White, Hauser, and Porzingis leading with four each, while Brown added three, and Holiday, Pritchard, and Horford chipped in with two apiece.
None of Boston’s threes were necessarily forced, evidenced by their 27 assists on 39 makes. Each came within the flow of the game, especially when Miami went to a zone look.
Swarming defense
Mazzulla and the Celtics entered the 2023-24 season with a renewed focus on defense, a commitment they maintained throughout the season, resulting in the league’s second-ranked defense.
Despite surrendering 35 points on 14-of-19 (73.7%) shooting from the field and 7-of-9 (77.8%) from deep, Boston held Miami to just 94 points on the afternoon.
At the center of that was Jrue Holiday, shutting down Miami’s leading scorer, Tyler Herro, holding him to just 11 points on a measly 4-of-13 shooting (30.8%)
“He was very solid. Jrue’s ability to just stick to a game plan but, at the same time, use his instincts is huge for us,” Mazzulla said on Holiday postgame. “He did a great job on that throughout the game, staying with him and making it difficult. And we need him to continue to do that. So, [we] got off to a great start defensively with his effort.”
“Jrue does all the things that may not always show up on the stat sheet every single night, Tatum added. “His presence. His ability to screen, to always want to guard the best players. Take tendencies away. He got a lot of timely offensive rebounds for us tonight. Jrue is a champion. We’re very lucky to have him on our team and everything that he brings to our team for us to be successful.”
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