LOS ANGELES – The Boston Celtics, fuelled by a near triple-double from Jayson Tatum, held off the short-handed Miami Heat 110-106 in a National Basketball Association (NBA) clash that turned testy in a tense fourth quarter on Feb 11.
Said Tatum: “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.
“They came to play and we enjoy being part of games like that. Everybody’s being competitive.”
League leaders Boston, who blew out the Heat by 33 points in January, found the going tougher this time as the Heat cut a 15-point third-quarter deficit to two with less than two minutes remaining.
Boston star Jaylen Brown and Miami’s Duncan Robinson exchanged heated words after tangling early in the final period, with Brown assessed a flagrant foul.
Said Robinson: “Just thought it was dangerous, unnecessary and excessive.”
Brown responded, saying: “Miami’s known for being physical. Miami’s known for getting away with a lot of that stuff, kind of mucking up the game. At the end of the day, you got to protect and own your space.”
But the Celtics – stunned by the Heat in the Eastern Conference finals last season – kept their heads down and polished off Miami.
Tatum scored 26 points with 10 rebounds and nine assists. Kristaps Porzingis added 25 points, Brown 20 points and Jrue Holiday chipped in 15 for the Celtics, who made 16-of-39 three-point attempts.
Tyler Herro scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half. His three-pointer with 1:49 remaining pulled the Heat to 106-104, but Porzingis and Tatum sealed the win at the free-throw line.
“They’re a good team, they’re going to go on runs,” Tatum said. “You’ve just got to withstand it and answer.”
Tatum said the Celtics are “better than we were last year at this point” but cautioned that the pressure “really kicks up” after next week’s NBA All-Star Game break.
“We’re playing good basketball, but we’ve still got some ways to go,” he said. “But I think we’re on the right direction.”
The Heat were without their scoring and assists leader Jimmy Butler, who was absent after a death in his family. They also lost Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson to injuries.
Rozier landed awkwardly on his right leg on a drive to the basket in the third quarter. Richardson departed in the second quarter with a right shoulder injury.
In the only other game on Feb 11, Western Conference contenders Oklahoma City Thunder snapped a two-game skid with a 127-113 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points and Jalen Williams added 32 for the Thunder, who bounced back from a lopsided loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Feb 10.
“We got into a good rhythm,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We were playing fast, we were getting stops and when we get out in transition we’re the best version of ourselves.”
Kings coach Mike Brown said. “Shai played like an MVP candidate. We threw the kitchen sink at him and he still scored 38.” AFP
