The Celtics aren’t out to make any statements in the opening week of the season, but as the defending Eastern Conference champions, they know they’re going to get every team’s best shot.
“So how do we handle that?” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters Friday in Miami. “Whether it goes our way or not, we have to be able to execute, we have to be poised and we have to be tough.”
In that respect, consider their first pair of tests passed.
In a game that in some ways resembled their seven-game slugfest in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, the C’s once again persevered in Miami. A sizable second-half lead was lost, but regained. And when things looked like they could unravel late in the fourth, the C’s held on for a 111-104 victory over the Heat.
“There are going to be moments throughout the year where we’re going to have to check our poise, check our execution and every game is going to teach us something about ourselves that we need to know,” Mazzulla told reporters.
Jayson Tatum scored 29 points and Jaylen Brown added 28 points as the C’s knocked off two other Eastern Conference contenders – the 76ers and Heat – in starting the season 2-0 for the first time since 2009-10.
“It’s a big win,” Al Horford told NBC Sports Boston. “On the road. When you looked at the schedule at the beginning of the year, it was like, ‘Man, Philly. Miami. Two tough ones.’ And this one here, we knew they were going to come out ready to go, and we just took on the challenge. It feels good to get this one on the road.”
As expected, it took some mettle in a way reminiscent of last May.
The C’s – in front for most of the night – had a 12-point lead early in the third that quickly dissipated. Fouls were to blame. They committed seven of them within the first five minutes of the third as the Heat went into the bonus with 8:11 to go. Three turnovers, two of them in consecutive sequences, led to the Heat’s game-tying 8-0 run, capped by a Bam Adebayo dunk.
Mazzulla was resistant to calling a timeout as Miami made its run, but finally called one after Adebayo’s dunk.
“The game will tell you what to do,” Mazzulla told reporters. “At the same time, you have to assess why a team is going on a run and what we can do in order to execute. Our guys, they’re very experienced. They’re mature, they’ve been through a lot together, and I love watching these guys kind of figure it out. To me, it’s empowering them that I believe in them and that they can execute and still get good looks.”
The Heat took a brief two-point lead after two Kyle Lowry free throws before the Celtics restored order. It helped, too, that Adebayo – who dominated when he was on the court – picked up his fourth foul and was issued a technical foul for arguing it. Like the C’s did in the first quarter – when they went on a 22-9 quarter-ending run after Adebayo left with foul trouble – the Heat big man’s absence catapulted them.
Tatum scored five quick points – a spinning hook and pull-up 3-pointer – and Brown hit a jumper as the C’s went on a quick 8-0 spurt. That led to a quarter-ending 20-6 run fueled by the bench – Grant Williams and Malcolm Brogdon making some big plays as they retook a 12-point advantage.
“They made a run in the third and coach called the timeout and we talked about that was the run that they made and let’s kind of move forward from there,” Horford said. “Our group did a great job closing them out in the third.”
The C’s held on despite facing some late adversity. Brown picked up two quick offensive fouls midway through the fourth quarter, and the Heat looked poised to make a run as they turned a 14-point deficit into five after a Jimmy Butler dunk.
But then Tatum went to work to close out the win. He made a strong move, a behind-the-back dribble as he attacked the basket over Adebayo for a bucket before hitting a jumper as the C’s rebuilt their lead back to nine with three minutes to go, and that was ultimately enough to hold on.
“We have a great team, and we’re still trying to figure each other out,” Tatum said to ESPN. “I love playing against the Heat. We got some history the last couple of years, and they make you a better team. They got a lot of pride, they got a lot of great players, great coach. They never quit. It’s always a good test to play against a team like that.”
-------
