Celtics Slam Heat

     The Boston Celtics picked up a 122-92 victory over the Miami Heat at TD Garden on Monday night. It was the worst margin of defeat of the Heat in 2021-22. The Celtics became the third team this season, besides the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Denver Nuggets, to beat the Heat twice. 

     The Heat began a four-game road trip for the week. It was the first time that Miami lost consecutive games since road losses on January 2 and January 3 in Northern California. 

     Boston(27-25) rocketed out to a 27-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. The C's continued to stay in front 54-45 at halftime. Miami(32-19) was unable to cut the deficit and were down to 94-70 after three quarters. The Celtics stretched the lead to 29 points at 106-77 with 6:22 remaining in the fourth. 

     Max Strus, who had 12 points by halftime, ended up with a career-high 27 points for the Heat. Bam Adebayo compiled 12 points, Caleb Martin added 14 points and Tyler Herro drained in 13 points. 

     Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 20 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double. Jaylen Brown dropped in a game-high 29 points and Marcus Smart contributed 16 points. Former Miami Heat player Josh Richardson placed in 11 points.