Jaylen Brown guides Celtics to blowout of short-handed Heat

Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 29 points and Jayson Tatum contributed 20 points and 12 rebounds to power the host Boston Celtics in a 122-92 rout of the Miami Heat on Monday, January 31 (Tuesday, February 1, Manila time).

Marcus Smart added 16 points and 7 assists and Al Horford contributed 14 points and 9 boards for the Celtics. Boston won for the fourth time in five games and improved to 2-0 versus the Heat this season.

Miami’s Max Strus had 27 points while going 9-of-17 from three-point distance. Caleb Martin scored 14 points, Tyler Herro added 13, and Bam Adebayo finished with 12 in the loss. Gabe Vincent amassed 10 points and 9 assists.

It was the second straight loss for the Heat after they won nine of their previous 11 games.

Miami struggled to score with All-Star forward Jimmy Butler out due to a right big toe injury. All-Star guard Kyle Lowry (personal) and forward PJ Tucker (knee) were also among a handful of players who sat out for the Heat.

Boston guard Dennis Schroder played after being listed on the team’s injury report with right Achilles tendinopathy. He scored 4 points in 17 minutes.

The Celtics led 54-45 at halftime and broke the game open with a 40-point third quarter. The hosts stretched their lead to as many as 32 points in a non-competitive fourth quarter.

The Celtics shot out to a 27-14 lead after one quarter and held a 31-16 advantage after Tatum’s jumper at 10:43 of the second. The Heat climbed back into the game with a 16-1 run to tie it at 32 on Strus’ three-pointer with 6:37 left before halftime.

Brown did much of the damage for the Celtics in the third quarter, scoring 12 points as Boston hit 14 of 22 shots (63.6%).

Miami plays the second of six straight games away from home against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. Boston caps its two-game homestand versus the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. – Rappler.com