Postgame

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Taylor Snow

The Celtics knew exactly what they needed to do to bounce back from Wednesday night’s Game 2 loss to the Heat, and that was to up their defensive intensity as the first-round series shifted down to Miami.

It didn’t take long for C's to right the ship on South Beach.

Boston held the Heat to just 12 points in the first quarter of Game 3 Saturday night, setting the tone for a 104-84 win while taking a 2-1 series lead.

It marked Boston’s best defensive effort – regular season or postseason – in nearly two full years. It hadn’t given up fewer than 85 points since its 93-80 Game 5 win over the Heat in the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals.

Joe Mazzulla described the early portion of Game 3 as a “rock fight,” as the two teams combined for just 15 points in the opening six minutes. Boston accounted for 80 percent of those points, grabbing a 12-3 lead out of the gate.

Jaylen Brown noted, “We put an emphasis on defense, trying to make them uncomfortable a little bit. They had a slow start, we had a good start on defense, and I think that opened up the game.”

Boston’s defensive effort sure opened things up for its offense, as it came alive for a 42-point second quarter. Meanwhile, its defense remained steadfast, taking a 63-39 lead into the break.

“It was just more about our attention to detail on both ends of the floor, mainly on the defensive end," said Jayson Tatum. "Just start the game and not let them be comfortable – regardless if they hit shots tonight, just try to make them work for everything that they get.”

Miami’s shot-making – particularly from 3-point land – was the main issue in Game 2. It made a franchise playoff-record 23 3-pointers Wednesday night at a 53.5 percent clip. On Saturday night, that number plummetted to nine makes at a 32.1 percent clip, similar to its 12 makes at a 32.4 percent clip in Game 1.

For a Celtics team that led the East in 3-point defense during the regular season, they felt much more like themselves on that end of the floor.

“Teams can come out and hit a plethora of shots,” said Brown, “they had a record-breaking night the other day, but we don't panic. When we watched the film, we broke it down seeing where we could make some improvements if we came out we executed, and I thought that's what we did tonight.”

On the offensive end, the Celtics put forth another balanced attack, just like they did in Game 1. Brown and Tatum tied for the game lead with 22 points. Kristaps Porzingis bounced back from a tough Game 2 with 18 points on 55.5 percent shooting. And Derrick White chipped in with 16 points.

As a team, the Celtics were deadly from inside the arc, where they shot 62.2 percent.

Overall, it was the type of bounce-back effort that their head coach expected.

“I don’t expect them to play perfect and I don’t expect a series to be easy or to go a certain way,” Mazzulla said. “But I trust them and I know they want to win, and I know they’ll do whatever it takes, and I trust their preparation, and I trust who they are.”

His players have that same trust in themselves, and they believe that through their preparation, they are just getting started in these playoffs.

Brown pointed out how the team needed a little time to regain its rhythm after playing just two games in the previous 12 days, and he is looking forward to playing every other day for the remainder of this series.

“I feel like we’re still getting it going,” he said. “I think we’ve still got another gear to kick into, so I’m looking forward to (Game 4) Monday.”

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C's Tighten Up Defense, Hold Heat to 84 Points in Game 3 Win

Marc D'Amico

Boston dominated Game 3 from start to finish, all while delivering a message to the Heat that their shocking Game 2 victory had no chance of being repeated Saturday night.

The Celtics scored the first points of the night off a 3-pointer from Kristaps Porzingis and never looked back from there. They eventually pulled ahead by as many as 29 points, all while never trailing for a single second.

Bam Adebayo did answer Porzingis’ 3-pointer with a conventional three-point play of his own to knot things up at 3-3. However, the Celtics were off and running from there.

Boston scored the game’s next nine points to pull ahead 12-3 and to take early control of the game. All nine of those points were scored by the dynamic duo of Cookies & Cream.

Cream, AKA Porzingis, jumpstarted the run with five straight points, the first two coming off an alley-oop slam from Jrue Holiday, and the next three arriving from beyond the arc off a dish from Jayson Tatum. Cookies, AKA Jaylen Brown, then got into the mix with a driving layup and a tip-in off a missed 3-pointer from Derrick White.

While Porzingis and Brown were scoring nine straight, Boston’s defense was putting the clamps down on Miami’s offense at the other end of the floor. The Celtics forced Miami into nine consecutive misses and a turnover following Adebayo’s early bucket.

The game might as well have ended there, with the Celtics leading 12-3 at the 6:20 mark. All Boston did was pull away from there before coasting into the winner’s circle to take a 2-1 series lead.

The Jays tied each other for Game 3’s top scoring mark, so how do we break the tie? On this night, it’s by efficiency and defensive numbers, so Jaylen Brown gets the nod.

Brown tied Jayson Tatum for the game’s top scoring mark with 22 points. He scored those points on 11-for-20 shooting from the field, good for a 55 percent conversion rate. That field goal percentage was the highest in the game among the seven players who attempted at least 10 shots. Brown also added in three assists at the offensive end, while committing just one turnover.

The star wing put in work at the defensive end, too. He grabbed six defensive boards and eight rebounds overall to finish second on the team in that category, trailing only Tatum’s 11 total rebounds. Brown led the game in steals with two and tied Miami’s team total with that number. He also was one of four Celtics to block a shot during the game, as he swatted away one shot.

"We had two days off, so any days off after a loss in the Playoffs is tough. So we were just ready to come out here and play. We played right poise on both ends of the floor, and we gotta repeat it on Monday."

- Jayson Tatum on bouncing back from Game 2

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Keys to the Game: Celtics 104, Heat 84

BOSTON – Boston used balance to establish dominance over the Miami Heat Sunday afternoon to set the tone for the opening round of the playoffs.

Six different Celtics scored between 10 and 23 points, Jayson Tatum logged his first career playoff triple-double, and the C’s blasted past the Heat at TD Garden to take Game 1 of the postseason, 114-94.

Jaylen Brown ignited a 14-0 start with a 3-pointer and a spin-move dunk out of the gate. The Celtics rode that momentum, going up by as many as 34 points in the second half before taking a 91-59 lead into the final frame.

It was an impressive open for a team that had just had an entire week off between games. However, Derrick White didn't think there would be any rust despite the extended break.

“We didn't walk into the game, per se, because we had the long layoff,” he said. “Just wanted to be aggressive from the start, and I think we did a good job of that."

White was one of the six Celtics who reached double-digits in scoring, as he finished second on the team with 20 points. Kristaps Porzingis logged 18 points, Jaylen Brown was right behind with 17, and Sam Hauser and Al Horford recorded 12 points and 10 points off the bench, respectively.

Leading the balanced team attack was Tatum with one of the most balanced individual games of his career. He logged 23 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals, becoming the first Celtic to record a playoff triple-double since Marcus Smart on Sept. 9, 2020 against Toronto.

“His mindset and approach throughout the game was great,” Joe Mazzulla said of Tatum’s performance. “I thought he played with great patience, thought he picked and chose his spots very well. I thought he took what the defense gave him and found the balance of creating for himself and for others. So to fight for that discipline on the offensive end, on both ends of the floor really, is a huge key to this series.”

Another key to this series is withstanding Miami’s runs, which the C's managed to do in Game 1. After falling into that 14-0 hole, the Heat rallied and pulled within three points early in the second quarter. But Boston punched right back and took an even greater lead than the one with which it opened the game.

“They’re a good team. They’re going to make runs,” said White. “We’ve seen that for years now. Just trying to maintain that poise when they make runs. Just trying to settle down and figure out how we can get a great look offensively, and whatever the defense is, just make them work.”

The Celtics made Miami work by unleashing Hauser, who made four consecutive 3-pointers during a 2:41 stretch early in the second quarter to put his team back up by 12. Boston is going to need those types of efforts off the bench, and he, Al Horford, and Payton Pritchard all contributed, as Mazzulla stuck with the same eight-man rotation that we saw in the regular season.

“Sam is a big reason we extended the game in that&nbsp;second quarter,” said Tatum. “You're going to&nbsp;need things like that to be successful in the playoffs. It's not always going to&nbsp;be the guys that start the game. Any given night, we're going to count on&nbsp;somebody off the bench to change the pace of the game, or kind of mess&nbsp;things up in a good way and change the dynamic of what we're doing.”

As long as the Celtics keep doing what they’re doing, it’s going to be hard to beat them. At least that’s how Porzingis felt coming out of Game 1.

“I'm glad that we came out the way we came out today,” he said after his first Celtics postseason experience. “We just set the stage for the rest of our path.”

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Celtics Set Tone With Balanced Attack in Game 1 Win over Heat

Were you a believer, as we headed into the Playoffs, that it’s #DifferentHere this season in Boston? If not, maybe Game 1 between the Celtics and the Heat did a bit of convincing for you.

Boston came out Sunday afternoon and destroyed the Heat while making a statement to them and to the league that this version of the Celtics is much different than last year’s version of the Celtics. As many will remember, Miami marched into TD Garden during last year’s Eastern Conference Finals and stole Games 1, 2 and 7 en route to a shocking series upset.

The Celtics dominated from start to finish and pulled ahead 14-0 over the first three minutes of action. Miami called for a timeout after the first nine points, but the tone had already been set for the remainder of the afternoon. Boston went on to cruise to a 114-94 win, all while pulling ahead by as many as 34 points.

Jaylen Brown was the man who got it all started with the first five points of the night for Boston. He canned a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the game and then followed that up with a transition slam 27 seconds later.

Kristaps Porzingis followed Brown’s 5-0 spurt up with a turnaround jumper before Jayson Tatum put home a driving layup to make it 9-0 out of the gates, just 1:55 into the game. Erik Spoelstra called for a timeout in an attempt to stop the momentum, but that attempt was fruitless.

Boston forced a miss out of Miami on the ensuing possession and then scored another five straight to pull ahead 14-0. That’s all the C’s needed to plug this win into the win column, as they led by double-digits for nearly the entirety of the remainder of the game en route to a 1-0 series lead.

Jayson Tatum did something Sunday afternoon that he has never done before. And that’s saying a lot for one of the most accomplished young players in the history of basketball.

Tatum dominated the Game 1 against the Heat while logging his first career playoff triple-double. He finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, with those latter two numbers standing as the top marks of the game.

Sunday’s performance also marked Tatum’s top assist effort of the calendar year. The last time he reached 10 dimes was way back on Dec. 28 against Detroit when he also dished out 10 helpers, meaning he had not reached double-digits in that category in 2024.

You don’t have to go back quite as far to find the last time Tatum reached double-figures in the rebound department. That happened on April 1, when he also grabbed 10 boards.

The thing is, as great as Tatum has been throughout his playoff career, he had never been this good in all three categories on the very same night. Now he has, and he’s finally got a playoff triple-double to show for it.

"Take care of the ball, get the shots that we want, and don't relax. We was up [34] points or whatever, human nature can play a factor. But, playoff basketball; you can't relax until there's zero on the clock."

- Jayson Tatum on Boston's lead dropping down a bit during the fourth quarter

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Keys to the Game: Celtics 114, Heat 94

PORTLAND, Maine – An inspiring run through the G League playoffs came to a devastating end for the Maine Celtics Monday night, as they came up 17 points short of their first championship.

The Oklahoma City Blue battled back after suffering a 20-point defeat in Game 1 of the best-of-three series by winning Game 2 on their home court before capturing the title with a 117-100 win in a do-or-die Game 3 at Portland Expo Building.

It was a tight contest until around the four-minute mark of the second quarter when OKC turned a 42-40 lead into a 63-40 halftime advantage. That 21-0 run was extended to a 28-0 run out of the break, as the Blue went up, 70-40.

Maine managed to cut the deficit in half by the 3:21 mark of the fourth quarter but didn’t have enough left in the tank to get over the hump.

The Celtics were already hobbled heading into the game, as two-way center Neemias Queta played through an illness after nearly having to sit out, and rookie wing Jordan Walsh played through an ankle injury that he suffered early in the first quarter.

Despite the frustrating result, head coach Blaine Mueller reflected fondly on the journey. After a .500 start through the first two-thirds of the regular season, his squad surged to a 10-2 finish before battling its first Finals appearance.

“Certainly not the result we wanted, especially at home,” he told Celtics.com after the game. "I wish we could’ve given a better game for our fans, a better game for our guys, overall. But a tremendous amount of individual growth over the course of the season. We set out as a staff to our three core tenets in terms of what we wanted to provide, and that was joy, development, and winning. All three of those things are very much intertwined and interconnected, and we had a hell of a lot of fun.”

Celtics two-way player JD Davison played a huge role in that run, all the way to the final game in which he tallied 22 points, 10 assists, four rebounds, and four steals.

“To be able to get to this point to where we’re at now,” the point guard said, “I just can’t explain the way this group fought and just came together from the beginning to now.”

Maine’s fans played a significant part in the team's success, as well, filling every inch of its small gymnasium with deafening cheers. The Celtics were a shining light for the state after it had gone through tragedy at the start of the season following the mass shooting that took place in Lewiston, Maine.

Mueller said that the environment those fans created, “was fantastic. It was palpable. You walk in there and feel the excitement, feel the buzz in the crowd. Our guys unfortunately didn’t get it done for them – I wish we could have given our fans a better performance – but they’ve been tremendous the whole year, especially throughout this playoff run.”

After the disappointment has settled, Mueller hopes his team can take a look back and appreciate the run that they made. It’s certainly something that he doesn’t take for granted in his first year as a head coach.

 “I told the guys, we didn’t need a championship to know how special a team this is, how special the locker room is,” Mueller concluded. “It would’ve been nice to have it so everybody else would know how special it is. But for me, this is the best year of my life. I had so much fun … And I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

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Maine Celtics Have a Lot to Be Proud of After 1st G League Finals Run

BOSTON – Svi Mykhailiuk knew that signing with the Boston Celtics this past summer would result in a reduced role compared to what he experienced in previous seasons. But he also knew that he’d have scattered opportunities to contribute to a contending team’s winning formula, and one of those chances arrived Sunday afternoon while facing off against the Washington Wizards.

In resting their top six players for the regular-season finale, the Celtics called on an entirely new starting rotation. Among them was Mykhailiuk, who seized the moment by putting forth one of the best performances of his life.

The sixth-year wing poured in a career-high-tying 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting, including a career-best 6-of-8 effort from 3-point range. He also dished out a season-high five assists, tied a season-best with five rebounds, and was plus-21 in 37 minutes of a 132-122 Celtics win – their 64th of the season.

“I just took what the game gave me,” Mykhailliuk said. “I took some more shots, open shots, made some shots early. I feel like that gave me a little more confidence.”

Mykhailiuk opened the game with 12 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting, making him the only Celtic this season with a 12-point quarter on at least five attempts without a miss. The majority of his makes came from beyond the arc, but the most impressive one came in a magnificent display of athleticism during the first quarter when he went from a full-court sprint into an alley-oop dunk off of a dish from Payton Pritchard.

Pritchard was also among those who benefitted from an elevated role, as he logged a career-high 38 points to go with 12 assists, and nine rebounds, making him just the third Celtic to hit those marks along with Larry Bird and John Havlicek. He also shot 15-of-21 from the field, making him just the fifth player in NBA history to reach the aforementioned marks on at least 70 percent shooting, joining Bird, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Wilt Chamberlain, and Clyde Drexler.

Neemias Queta had a fantastic showing off the bench with career highs of 19 points and six blocks, as well as nine rebounds. He became just the fifth Celtic to reach those marks along with Dave Cowens, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, and Kristaps Porzingis.

“We knew we were gonna have the opportunity to play a lot of minutes,” Mykhailiuk said. “Everybody came prepared, everybody was excited to get on the court and (have more) playing time, and everybody wanted to win and finish the regular season on the right note and start preparing for the playoffs.”

Most of the role players will see their minutes drop back down in the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any opportunities for them to step in during certain situations. That’s why they call the reserve unit the “Stay Ready Crew,” and head coach Joe Mazzulla knows that Mykhailiuk is one of the guys who will always be ready.

“When we asked Svi to come here, one of the things I told him was, ‘It’s going to be inconsistent at times. But because of how we play, we’re going to rely on you guys to win us games, so the things you do daily are important.’ And he bought into that, and that was great … He’s done a lot of great things for us. I love his work ethic on a daily basis, and he helped us win games this year.”

Mykhailiuk says that the conversation he had with Mazzulla recurred throughout the campaign. It made him feel better prepared for any chance he was given.

“[Mazzulla] mentioned that during the season a lot and it makes you cautious and makes you understand that you actually have to be prepared at any time for whatever happens,” Mykhailiuk said. “We understand that we are one of the best teams in the league and we have really big goals, so for me personally to help the team win, you’ve just always got to be prepared.”

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Svi's Career Game Helps C's Close Regular Season on High Note

As Joe Mazzulla has emphasized to his team all season long, closing out quarters with strong play is critical to Boston’s long-term success. The Celtics made him proud in that respect Sunday afternoon.

Boston, playing without its top six players for the second straight game to end the season, was knotted up in a tie ballgame with less than two and a half minutes left in the first half. But by the time the C’s went to the locker room, they had burst ahead by 10 points to set the tone for the remainder of the contest.

Payton Pritchard was not only at the center of the game-changing run; he was the game-changing run. Pritchard scored all 14 of Boston’s points over the final 2:19 of the first half to give him 22 points in the game – seven more than any other player had notched to that point.

The blooming point guard, who has now logged consecutive double-doubles heading into the postseason of at least 30 points and 11 assists, canned all five of his shots during this stretch of action. Four of them were from long distance, including back-to-back triples to start the run, and back-to-back triples to end the run. The final shot was drilled from 26 feet out and with 3.6 seconds left on the first-half clock, leaving Pritchard to walk off the court with a smug look on his face as if to say, “This is what I do.”

That was the beginning of the end of Washington. The Celtics dominated the second half, pulling ahead by as many as 24 points before completing a 132-122 win.

In a Keys to the Game first, we’re handing out not one, but two Key Player awards tonight. The first goes to Payton Pritchard, and the second goes to Neemias Queta.

Pritchard continued his hot streak Sunday afternoon by piling up a career-high 38 points to go along with 12 assists and nine rebounds. He led the game in all three categories, all while setting a new season high with nearly 44 minutes of action. Pritchard somehow only committed two turnovers while playing that long, with the ball in his hands that much. A truly special performance that caps a truly special weekend, as Pritchard joined legends John Havlicek, Larry Bird and Bob Cousy as the only members of the organization to ever log back-to-back 30-point, 10-assist double-doubles.

Since Pritchard has been owning this slot of late, we figured we should share the love. And Queta is more than deserving of it.

Queta nearly logged a 20-point double-double Sunday afternoon despite playing less than 20 minutes. He finished with a career-high 19 points to go along with nine rebounds. He made eight of his 11 shot attempts and three of his four free throws. He also set a new career high in blocked shots with six, which doubled his previous career high, and which was two more than Washington’s entire team logged.

"We know exactly who we are on both sides of the ball, and also know we have the depth and the open-mindedness to adapt when necessary."

- Joe Mazzulla on the Celtics heading into the postseason

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Keys to the Game: Celtics 132, Wizards 122

BOSTON – Rather than putting their feet up between Games 2 and 3 of the G League Finals, Celtics players JD Davison, Drew Peterson, Neemias Queta, and Jordan Walsh decided that they wanted to get some extra reps at the NBA level.

Not even 20 hours after completing the middle game of the best-of-three championship round, those four made their way from Oklahoma City to Boston and stepped in against the Charlotte Hornets to combine for 39 points in a 131-98 Celtics win.

“I think it’s about building habits, good habits, winning habits,” Queta said after a 16-point, six-rebound, five-assist, two-steal effort. “Being able to come out on the floor and play meaningful minutes on the NBA court is something we value a lot and it’s gonna be important for our development long-term. So the more minutes we can play and be able to contribute to winning, the more happy we can be.”

Walsh was happy to contribute by knocking down the first two 3-pointers of his NBA career. He finished with eight points while shooting 3-of-4 from the field and 2-of-3 from long range, which was identical to the stat line posted by Peterson. Davison chipped in with seven points and was second on the team in assists with seven, trailing only Payton Pritchard’s 11-assist night.

Pritchard, who also scored a career-high 31 points, was impressed with the play of those guys coming off the bench, noting how much they seem to improve each time they come back to Boston.

“It just shows why they're in the championship in the G League,” Pritchard said. “Jordan, JD, Neemi, Drew, they are tremendous players getting better every time I see them.”

There was even a stretch toward the end of the game during which all four of them were on the court together, just as they were playing together in Maine. The chemistry was evident among them, as they closed the game on an 11-2 run.

“I feel like the game comes easier for us,” Queta said, “because we build our chemistry [in Maine] and understand a little bit of each other's dynamics where to be at, what guys like to do … The more we play with each other, we're starting to build a bit more. And these moments are really important for the development of our group. The more we can be able to come in there and play as hard as we can and take these minutes as meaningful reps, I feel like it's only gonna help the team long-term.”

The game also seemed to come easy for that group from a systematic standpoint, to which head coach Joe Mazzulla credits the alignment between both the Maine and Boston teams.

“I think it’s just a testament to the coaching staff, the front office, the players, and it shows the continuity amongst the organization, which is kind of what we’re looking for,” said Mazzulla. “So those guys have played really well any time they’ve come up for us, and they are doing a heck of a job [up] there.”

The job that they’ve done has put them within one win of capturing a G League championship. Getting these final competitive reps in before Monday night’s title game, hopefully, will help put them over the top.