What We Learned From Elite Playoff-Like Celtics Victory Over Heat

The Boston Celtics, once again, added to their flooding bag of notable victories, this time picking apart the Miami Heat on Thursday night.

Meeting old friend Terry Rozier, who the Heat acquired on Monday in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets, the Celtics wasted no time reminding Miami of who stands atop the Eastern Conference and why. Boston blew the doors off the Heat, 143-110, extending Miami’s losing streak to five games — which hasn’t happened in the last three years. The 33-point scoring differential was also good enough for the biggest Celtics win, ever, over the Heat.

“We just learn from last year, right? Getting so close to not getting over that hump, and just give a lot of credit to the guys,” Tatum said, as seen on ESPN’s postgame coverage after scoring a game-high 26 points. “We got Jrue Holiday and (Kristaps Porzingis). They make the world a difference, and we’re just really intentional about what we’re trying to do on the court more often than not, and it’s showing.”

Tatum added: “No matter if you win by 30 (points) or two, it just counts as one win. So, we still got a long way to go.”

Well ahead with no signs of a comeback bid in the works for Miami, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla unloaded the bench and pulled out all the starters with 6:37 left in the fourth quarter. Boston had no issue riding to the finish line, improving its NBA-best record to 35-10 while also notching a league-best 15th road victory.

“It’s fun to be a part of a rivalry,” Holiday said postgame, per NBC Sports Boston video. “It’s fun to be part of something bigger than yourself. To be on this team has been amazing.”

Here are three things we learned from Boston’s second-to-final regular season matchup with Miami:

Terry Rozier has some work to do
Miami added Rozier ahead of the Feb. 8 deadline to provide the roster with a much-needed scoring upgrade, hence, instant expectations that aren’t in place when playing for the Hornets.

Rozier’s averaged a career-high 22.7 points, formerly playing under a loose and at-times exciting young Charlotte offense that can be flashy from time to time but isn’t efficient enough to go anywhere. Now in Miami, the pressures are much different, and when Rozier had his first chance to deliver in a marquee matchup versus a potential playoff opponent Celtics team, the 29-year-old flopped.

The once-Celtics guard scored just seven points in 29 minutes played, shooting 3-of-10 from the field with two rebounds and three assists, all to finish a minus-28 –tied with Bam Adebayo for the worst plus-minus of anyone on the court.

Maybe it’s just a fluke, but whatever it is, Rozier shoulders the weighing expectations of showing up for Miami. He’s now 0-for-1 in doing so.

Luke Kornet might be Miami’s undiscovered kryptonite
After Kristaps Porzingis suffered an ankle injury and needed to be assisted off the floor, sidelining Boston’s starting center midway through the third quarter, the team needed a boost.

That’s where Luke Kornet entered the picture and delivered.

Kornet gave Miami’s defense problems, exposing size flaws by running pick-and-rolls with Jaylen Brown, and finishing the night scoring 12 points and five rebounds. In the third quarter, after Porzingis headed to the locker room for medical evaluation, Kornet was assisted on three consecutive possessions — including two easy-like-Sunday morning feeds from Brown inside the paint.

For a stretch, Kornet was finding the rim with no issue or real contest from Miami’s defense, and Boston took notice of that under-the-cover advantage and didn’t fail to utilize it.

The Celtics finished the night shooting 63.7% from the field, 55% from 3-point range, and 95% from the free-throw line, recording the second-most efficient performance in NBA history with an 80.5 TS%, according to StatMuse.

This is WILD 🤯

The Celtics become the first team in NBA history to have 5 players make 3+ threes & 3+ two-point FGs in a game. pic.twitter.com/wFR5JYb4Bw

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 26, 2024

Heat fans have weak stomachs
It wasn’t a great look from the Heat, but the same goes for the fanbase.

Understanding there was no coming back from the beating that Miami was enduring, Heat fans packed their bags well before the final buzzer sounded at Kaseya Center and fled for the exits. Taking the fairweather route, the Heat weren’t backed by a large percentage of their fanbase while the Celtics had plenty of support.

In the fourth quarter, gapping empty rows of seating were noticeable, indicating that Miami couldn’t stomach watching a much stronger and more efficient Celtics offense tee off on the No. 7 seed Heat.

Both teams will meet again for the final time in the regular season on Feb. 11.