Key Moment
A heavy dose of The Jays and a sprinkle of Al Horford knocked the Miami Heat out Wednesday night.
Boston, which led for the final 31:18 of the game, took control over the final five-plus minutes of the fourth quarter with a 16-6 run. Thirteen of those points were scored by Jayson Tatum (eight) and Jaylen Brown (five), while Horford added in three.
It was Horford’s 3-pointer at the 5:08 mark that doubled Boston’s lead from three up to six. Brown then followed 20 seconds later with one of his two dunks during the stretch. Tatum then sandwiched two 3-pointers around Brown’s second dunk to send TD Garden into a frenzy, while also upping his scoring total to 47 points on the night.
Following a free throw from Brown, Tatum, rightfully so, was able to close out the night’s scoring with two free throws following double-technicals and an ejection of Heat big man Bam Adebayo. Those two freebies were the cherry on top of Tatum’s season-best performance and Boston’s 18th victory of the season.
Key Player
Look no further than Jayson Tatum for this slot. There just can’t be any other choice.
Tatum recorded the ninth double-double of his season in dramatic fashion Wednesday night by dropping a game-high and season-high 49 points on the visiting Heat. That scoring went along with a game-high 11 rebounds. He scored his points in an extremely efficient manner, as well, as he canned 15 of his 25 shots, eight of his 12 3-pointers, and 11 of his 12 free throws.
The fact that Tatum scored nearly two points per shot attempt – an exceptionally high rate – says a lot about how dominant he was during this contest.
Ten of Tatum’s 11 boards were grabbed at the defensive end of the floor. He also contributed three assists and a team-best three steals during his nearly 39 minutes of action.
Box Score Nuggets
- Both teams shot at least 52.2 percent from the field, 46.2 percent from long distance, and 87 percent from the free-throw line.
- Jayson Tatum notched game highs of 49 points and 11 rebounds.
- Three Heat players scored at least 22 points, led by 23 apiece from both Max Strus and Bam Adebayo.
- No Heat player grabbed more than seven rebounds.
- Malcolm Brogdon led all reserves with 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting.
- Seven of the nine Heat players who appeared in the game scored in double-figures.
- Marcus Smart and Tyler Herro tied for the game high in assists with nine apiece.
- Jaylen Brown tallied 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
- Boston outscored Miami 20-4 in fast break points.
- Ten players made multiple 3-pointers during the contest.
Quote of the Night
Malcolm for President!’"
- Marcus Smart on teammate Malcolm Brogdon