The Boston Celtics were in formidable form once again as they beat Miami Heat 118-84 to round off a 4-1 series win in the NBA play-offs.
It was a third straight blowout win for the franchose and they found themselves with a 20-point lead in the first quarter.
Read our other sports news stories here:
Doncic Dominates As Mavericks Record Blowout Win Over LA Clippers
Dest Blow For United States
Timberwolves Coach Finch To Undergo Knee Surgery
Derrick White and Jaylen Brown both scored 25 points, with the former grabbing 15 it the first quarter alone.
The Celtics then extended their lead in a blistering second quarter, going on a 14-2 run to push their advantage to 30.
With a 22-point margin at half-time, the game was all but over for the Heat who had no answer in the second half, despite Bam Adebayo’s 23-point performance.
Jayson Tatum finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds and was a big influence in all four of the Celtics’ wins in the series.
got a lot of work left to do pic.twitter.com/nm8Z1BeYXG
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 2, 2024
The Boston side won each of their games by double digits and now await the winner of the Cleveland Vavaliers-Orlando Magic series.
Speaking after the game, Tatum said: “I think this is my fourth time playing them in play-offs, but they all count the same.
“We did our job. We took care of business.”
The Celtics are the first side in the Eastern Conference to make it out of the opening round of the play-offs.
They will be a strong contender to win the Championship but are likely to be missing center Kristaps Porzingis for a while yet.
The 28-year-old strained his calf in the Game 4 win on Monday and is not expected to be back until at least the Eastern Conference finals.
Porzingis averaged just over 20 points and 7 rebounds in the NBA regular season and is undoubtedly a big miss.
