NBA Playoffs: Celtics stomp all over Heat in a huge Game 2 win!

Miami, Florida - The Boston Celtics rebounded from a disappointing Game 1 to torch the Miami Heat 127-102 with a rocking performance on Thursday.

Jayson Tatum finished with a team-high 27 points against the Heat.
Jayson Tatum finished with a team-high 27 points against the Heat.  © USA TODAY Sports

The Celtics have the East finals all tied up at 1-1. They've also snatched home-court advantage, with Game 3 and Game 4 to take place in Boston.

In arguably their best half of the season, the Celtics were nearly flawless to open the game, shooting nine-of-11 from three-point range in the first quarter on the way to putting up two consecutive 35-point frames, leading 70-45 at half-time.

The Heat threatened to make things interesting in the third period as Jimmy Butler piled on 16 of his game-high 29 points.

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But the Celtics had an answer every time, shooting 20-of-40 from three for the contest, including 17-of-29 from the five Boston players to play more than 30 minutes each.

Celtics put on scoring masterclass

Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart (r.) guarding the Heat's Jimmy Butler, who scored 29 points.
Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart (r.) guarding the Heat's Jimmy Butler, who scored 29 points.  © USA TODAY Sports

Jayson Tatum finished with a team-high 27 points on eight-of-13 shooting with five rebounds and five assists, while Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart had 24 on eight-of-22 shooting with nine rebounds, 12 assists, and three steals.

Jaylen Brown chipped in an efficient 24 points on nine-of-17 shooting, and Grant Williams was excellent once again for the Celtics with 19 points off the bench, shooting five-of-seven from the field, and was +37 in plus/minus over his 32 minutes.

Only Payton Pritchard finished with a higher plus/minus, finishing plus +39 in his 23 minutes, scoring 10 points with two assists in Derrick White's absence.

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After dominating the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics, averaging over 20 points per game on 60% shooting, Bam Adebayo had his second straight disappointing showing. After posting 10 points and four rebounds in Game 1, he followed it up with just six points and nine rebounds.

Adebayo is averaging 14 points and seven rebounds in the playoffs thus far, significantly down from his season averages of 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Cover photo: USA TODAY Sports

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