Jayson Tatum scored 27 points, Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown each had 24, and the Boston Celtics stomped the Miami Heat 127-102 to take the home court advantage. The series now revert to Boston for Games 3 and 4.
The Celtics started the game down 10 in the opening minutes, but they went on a massive first-half run to take a 70-45 lead at the intermission. Grant Williams scored 19 points for Boston, which used a 17-0 run late in the first quarter to take control.
With Smart and Horford back, the Celtics were able to maintained their poise for 48 minute. Now they’ll have the chance to take the lead in the Eastern Conference Finals in front of their faithful.
Smart, who returned from a mid-foot sprain, was a rebound shy of a triple-double, after adding 12 assists and nine rebounds. Jimmy Butler had 29 points in 32 minutes for Miami, which suffered the first lose at home in these playoffs.
Boston trailed by 10 in the first quarter, then outscored Miami 60-21 over the next 18 minutes. Game 3 is Saturday in Boston as the Celtics are now holding a 4-0 record in the postseason in games after losses.
Despite Butler’s best efforts in the third quarter, the lead was 96-71 going into the fourth and the outcome was never remotely close to being in question the rest of the way. Butler had 16 points in the third as the Heat slightly cut the lead.
However, the Celtics kept their composure and run away with the victory. The two teams will meet again Saturday.
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