MIAMI — Gordon Hayward had 29 points and nine rebounds, Jaylen Brown scored 25 points and the Boston Celtics led virtually the entire way to beat the Miami Heat 109-101 on Tuesday night.
Kemba Walker added 16 points and eight assists for Boston, which got 11 points from Marcus Smart and a 10-point, 11-rebound effort from Daniel Theis.
Goran Dragic led Miami with 23 points and Jimmy Butler scored 20. Bam Adebayo had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Duncan Robinson scored 12 points for the Heat — who lost at home to an Eastern Conference opponent for the first time in 14 games this season.
Boston outscored Miami 15-0 from 3-point range in the game’s first nine minutes, a big reason why the Celtics took control from the outset and built as much as a 13-point lead in the opening quarter.
Miami took the lead on a pair of occasions in the second, only for a span of a couple minutes. The Celtics took a 53-48 lead into the half and watched Miami score to make it a one- or two-possession game time and time again down the stretch.
But the Heat never held the lead in the second half. Every time they got close, Boston had the answer and Smart’s 3-pointer with 1:50 left put Boston up by eight to all but seal matters.
The tributes to the life of Kobe Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash Sunday along with his daughter, Gianna, and seven others, continued.
Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra, Celtics Coach Brad Stevens and their staffs wore Bryant’s signature sneakers — a gesture that other NBA coaches made Tuesday as well.
The Heat also displayed the numbers 8 and 24, Bryant’s two jersey numbers in the distinctive Los Angeles Lakers purple and gold, on an electronic sign attached to the basket stanchions.
NOTES: Jayson Tatum (right groin strain) missed his third consecutive game. Tatum said he feels like he’s closing in on a return. “Obviously, with that type of an injury, we have to be very careful,” Stevens said. … Enes Kanter (bruised right hip) also remained sidelined. … The Celtics play four of their next five games against teams below the .500 mark.
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