On Saturday evening, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics seized a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first round showdown against the Miami Heat with a dominant 104-84 road win against the Miami Heat in a game that wasn’t even as “close” as the final score indicated. Many were wondering how the Celtics would respond after suffering one of the biggest playoff upsets in recent NBA history in Game 2 of the series on Wednesday evening, but Tatum and his teammates showed up to play in South Beach, displaying some suffocating defense even as their offense struggled a little bit (with the notable exception of the second quarter onslaught).
During the win, Celtics backup big man Al Horford passed Philadelphia 76ers great Allen Iverson in postseason scoring.
Horford received the news on Sunday and responded with a hilariously frank reaction.
“I’ve played a lot of games,” Horford told Celtics on CLNS on X, the social networking platform previously known as Twitter. “A lot of postseason games, and I’ve been quite fortunate. I’m not sure what to say about that. I just think that for me, the attitude is always about the team and putting our squad in the best position. I’m just thankful to be in the league for so long and be able to influence the game.”
Horford has perhaps never had a better chance at his first NBA championship than he does right now, as the Celtics are the odds-on favorites to win their first title since 2008.
Can the Celtics finally break through?
Boston has been the greatest team in the NBA by a long shot this season, finishing with 64 victories and likely winning more if they had more incentive to compete down the stretch of the regular season.
The Celtics have never been short on talent, though it should be emphasized that the 2023-24 squad has a lot more of it than previous years. Still, the concern for Boston has always been the team’s mental fortitude and coaching.
The Celtics demonstrated mental fortitude and resiliency in their triumph on Saturday, immediately regaining home court advantage in the series and winning their third straight road playoff game against the Heat. Another significant worry for this Celtics team is their ability to perform in crunch time during playoff games, which hasn’t been tested yet in the first three games, as all three wins in the series have been relatively easy for each club.
In any event, the Celtics will have the opportunity to take a clear 3-1 lead in the series as they return to Boston on Monday evening, this time in Miami. The game is set to begin at 7:30 PM ET and will be broadcast nationally by TNT.
