The Celtics scored 53 first quarter points in route to a 147-129 point win over the rival Miami Heat. It was a night that included a 43 point game from Jaylen Brown, a triple-double from Jayson Tatum and 15 point and 10 rebound game from Neemias Queta.
The Celtics had everyone available, outside of Nikola Vucevic for this one. Vucevic did go through a workout today in Miami at shoot around.
Good sign: Nikola Vucevic is doing some on-court work here at shootaround in Miami It’s been 3.5 weeks since
he fractured his right ring finger pic.twitter.com/dfRqbDx8oi
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) April 1, 2026
The Celtics started Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Jayson Tatum and Neemias Queta. Norman Powell was out for the Heat who started Davion Mitchell, Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, Pelle Larson and Bam Adebayo.
It was a hot start for Jaylen Brown who scored the Celtics first 11 points.
There wasn’t a ton of defense in the first 6 minutes of the game as the teams were tied at 21 at the first timeout. The Celtics were struggling to guard Bam Adebayo, who had 11 points, 2 rebounds (both offensive boards) and 1 assist early in the game.
It was a monster Sam Hauser quarter as he had 17 points shooting 6/6 from the field and 5/5 from three.
The Celtics led Miami 53-33 at the end of the first quarter. It was a dominant first quarter for Boston, they shot 71% from the field and 73% from three, making 11 threes. They ended the quarter on a 32-9 run as well.
Jaylen Brown had 20 points (the most by a Celtics in the first quarter this season) along with the previously mentioned 17 from Hauser.
53 points is the most first quarter points for the Celtics in franchise history.
53 points is the most BOS has ever scored in a 1st quarter & is tied for the 2nd most 1st-quarter points in NBA history.
— Dick Lipe (@DickLipe) April 2, 2026
Brown's 20 pts is tied for the 2nd most he's ever scored in a 1st quarter.
Hauser's 17 is a 1st quarter career-high and his 5 3's ties Celtic record.
Jordan Walsh was the 9th Celtic off of the bench, Hugo Gonzalez had been filling that role for a while now.
After a slow start, the Celtics defense really clicked in. After giving up 30 points in the first 7:16 of the game, they hunkered down on that side, giving up 21 points over the next 12 minutes of game action.
The Celtics cooled off a bit in the second quarter and did not score 100 points. They did score 80, however, and led Miami 80-57 at halftime. Brown led the team with 24 points while Hauser had 17 and Jayson Tatum had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Your eyes aren’t deceiving you, insane numbers 📈 pic.twitter.com/yMq1S8HYBZ
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 2, 2026
The third quarter was another hot start for Brown as he scored 8 straight points as the Celtics opened up a 26 point lead.
The rest of the third quarter didn’t go well for the Celtics. They didn’t get nearly enough stops in the quarter and the Heat were able to cut the lead to 10 with 45 points in the period. Just unacceptable stuff from the defense.
The Heat just scored 20 points in 3.5 minutes
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) April 2, 2026
They went 6-7 from three in that span
The Celtics led the Heat 112-102 at the end of three quarters. Jaylen Brown was dominating the game with 36 points.
Early in the fourth quarter, Jayson Tatum recored a triple-double and then a step back three put the Celtics back up 16. Tatum finished the game with 25 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists.
A Jayson Tatum three pushes the Celtics' lead back up to 16, and gives him 22 points pic.twitter.com/1c7WiVUoYt
— Danielle Hobeika (@DanielleHobeika) April 2, 2026
The Heat made a push but the closest they got was 9. The Celtic won the game 147-129. Jaylen Brown finished with 43 points, Sam Hauser had 23 points and Neemias Queta had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The Celtics 58% from the field and 48% from three while the Heat shot 46% from the field and 51% from three. Boston’s next game is Friday night in Milwaukee against the Bucks at 8 EST.
