Boston Celtics (51-25) beat Miami Heat (40-37) 147-129 on the road on Wednesday, April 1 in a shootout, with the two teams combining for 276 points.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Celtics struck first, taking the opening quarter 53-33 and a 20-point lead after one. The Celtics kept the pressure on with a 27-24 second quarter, carrying a 23-point lead into halftime.
The Heat won the third 45-32 to stay in front, taking a 10-point lead into the fourth. The Celtics took the fourth 35-27; the Celtics finished the job for a 147-129 regulation win.
What decided it
The Celtics got more from their shots, finishing at 69.3% effective field-goal shooting compared with 58.9% for the Heat. The Celtics grabbed 30.6% of their own misses, while the Heat recovered 24.5%. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
At roughly 102 possessions per team, the Celtics produced 144.9 points per 100 possessions to 127.1 for the Heat.
The Celtics' reserves also made a difference, outscoring the opposing bench 43-30.
Who made the difference
Jaylen Brown was the game's biggest individual force for BOS: 43 pts, 3 reb, 7 ast on 17-29 shooting. His Game Score of 32.7 led everyone. His team was +9 with him on the floor.
Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 29 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast on 10-21 shooting, good for a 20.9 Game Score.
Bam Adebayo (29 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (17 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast), and Jayson Tatum (25 pts, 18 reb, 11 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 55% for the Celtics.
Across the last 7 meetings in our records, Boston Celtics lead 6-1.
The Celtics are now 51-25, and the Heat are 40-37. The Celtics last five before this game: L-W-W-W-L.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.