Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla talks to protect Jaylen Brown (7) through the first half of an NBA basketball sport, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photograph/Marta Lavandier)
MIAMI — Boston coach Joe Mazzulla is a film buff who made large information final season when revealing that he watches “The City” a number of instances every week. And he lately watched the 1993 crime drama “A Bronx Story,” one other film that earned his two-thumbs-up ranking.
One of many key strains from that film: “No person cares.”
That completely summed up how he felt about blowing out the Warmth.
Jayson Tatum scored 26 factors, Kristaps Porzingis had 19 earlier than spraining his left ankle and the Celtics made 22 3-pointers on the best way to routing the reeling Warmth 143-110 on Thursday night time, sending Miami to its fifth straight loss.
“This sport was actually good, however it means nothing in any respect within the grand scheme of issues if we don’t take the teachings that we have to and apply it to the subsequent sport,” Mazzulla stated. “So, we’ll take pleasure in it till we get to the airplane after which it’s on to the subsequent one.”
There was a lot to take pleasure in. The 143 factors had been essentially the most Boston ever scored towards Miami, and the 33-point margin represented Boston’s most-lopsided win over Miami in 172 conferences between the franchises, together with playoffs. The Celtics shot 64% and gained the rebound battle 47-31.
Jaylen Brown scored 18 factors, Jrue Vacation had 17 and Derrick White 15 for the NBA-leading Celtics. They improved to 35-10 and are 2-0 this season towards the staff that beat them in final season’s Japanese Convention finals.
“We simply discovered from final 12 months, getting so shut and never getting over that hump,” Tatum stated.
Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro every scored 19 factors for Miami, which obtained 17 from Jimmy Butler. The Warmth are of their longest skid since dropping six in a row in March 2021.
“I felt like there was a whole lot of miscommunication all through the sport, defensive lapses, an entire bunch of issues that went on via the sport that we didn’t right and we paid for,” Adebayo stated.
The Warmth had been 8 1/2-point underdogs at sport time in accordance with FanDuel Sportsbook. They hadn’t been that been of an underdog in their very own constructing since Feb. 27, 2019, when Golden State was favored by 9 1/2 factors in what grew to become a 126-125 Miami win.
This one didn’t have that kind of ending for Miami. Not even shut.
Boston wasted little time exhibiting why oddsmakers did what they did. An 18-7 run over a three-minute stretch of the opening quarter gave the Celtics a 40-25 lead, and Boston was off and working. It was 77-64 Boston on the half, the Celtics in whole management.
And it solely obtained worse for Miami.
The Warmth got here into the night time giving up a median of 110.5 factors this season; Boston had 111 with a minute left within the third quarter and went into the fourth main 113-90. Even together with playoffs, it was solely the fourth time in Warmth historical past a Miami staff allowed that many factors via the primary 36 minutes of a sport.
Miami has trailed by no less than 24 factors in three of its final 5 video games — 37 at Toronto on Jan. 17, then 24 at Orlando on Sunday and the largest lead Thursday for Boston was 34. And people three video games wound up because the three most-lopsided losses of this Warmth season.
“What went mistaken was we confronted a really potent offensive staff that’s been doing this for a number of months now,” Warmth coach Erik Spoelstra stated. “It was a humbling night time. That’s for certain. They put us in our place tonight.”
NEXT SCHEDULE
Celtics: Host Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night time.
Warmth: At New York on Saturday.