4 takeaways as Celtics blow out Heat, make franchise history

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4 takeaways as Celtics blow out Heat, make franchise history

Souichi Terada · MassLive

Thu, Apr 2, 2026 ·

4 min read

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The Celtics blew out the Heat 147-129 after a historic first quarter Wednesday in Miami . The C’s scored 53 points, a franchise record for points in a first quarter , to sprint ahead of the Heat. Boston improved to 51-45 on the season while Miami dropped to 40-37.

While the C’s and Heat exchanged early blows with a flurry of buckets, Boston stayed hot in the first quarter. The C’s used a 27-3 run to put themselves ahead of the Heat for good on the night. The shots slowed down some, but it was still a 23-point C’s lead at halftime.

The Heat responded in a big way in the third quarter. After the C’s hit 11 3-pointers in the first quarter, Miami hit 11 3-pointers of its own in the third. That allowed the Heat to cut it to a 10-point game going into the fourth quarter. It was interesting early in the fourth, but the C’s pulled away for the victory.

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Jaylen Brown scored 43 points and seven assists to lead the Celtics. Jayson Tatum added 25 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists for a triple-double. Sam Hauser was also red-hot from deep on his way to 23 points. Bam Adebayo had 29 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, while Davion Mitchell had 21 points and seven assists.

The Celtics face the Bucks at 8 p.m. Friday in Milwaukee to wrap up their four-game road trip. Here are four takeaways from Boston’s win over Miami.

Historic first quarter:It was all Brown to start Wednesday’s game, scoring the Celtics’ first 11 points on the night. Then Hauser also caught fire, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 on 3-pointers in the opening frame. The Celtics shot 11-for-15 on 3-pointers in the first quarter with five different players making at least one shot from beyond the arc. It was one of those stretches where the Celtics seemingly couldn’t miss, and the Heat failed to keep pace. Brown was a huge part of the equation as he continued his career-best season with another 40-plus point night.

Getting comfortable:Tatum posted his first triple-double of the season Wednesday, showing off his all-around game. It helped his teammates were making plenty of shots to up the assist total. Tatum also shot 9-for-21 from the floor in 37 minutes, another positive sign that he’s getting closer to full strength. Outings like Wednesday clearly show the game is slowing down for Tatum. It still hasn’t been a month since he returned to the court from his Achilles injury. It’s also a great sign for the Celtics he’s playing great just weeks ahead of the playoffs.

Streak continues:The Celtics and Heat have had some epic playoff battles this decade. But in recent memory, the C’s have owned the Heat — especially at the Kaseya Center. Wednesday’s win marked the 10th straight victory for the Celtics on the Heat’s home court. Boston also swept Miami in the season series 4-0. The last time the Heat beat the Celtics in Miami was Game 3 of the 2023 East Finals back on May 21, 2023. The Celtics have also won four straight playoff games in Miami as part of that overall 10-game win streak.

Standings watch: While the Celtics still have work to do in their final six games of the season, they have a strong hold on the No. 2 seed in the East. With the C’s victory, they kept the pressure on the Knicks . Boston entered Wednesday 2.5 games up on New York in the standings. The Knicks own the tiebreaker over the Celtics, but if the C’s keep winning, it won’t matter. The race for the No. 2 seed will likely stay close, but this recent stretch from the Celtics has put them in a strong position.

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