The Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat 114-94 in the series opener of the NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Jayson Tatum led his team to a resounding victory with a triple-double consisting of 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier were both absent for the Heat, with Butler having been instrumental in their run to the finals the previous season. Game 2 will be played in Boston on Wednesday.

Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics drives to the basket in Round 1 Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs against the Miami Heat.

Photo courtesy of Eurosport

At an energetic TD Garden, the Boston Celtics opened their NBA Playoff campaign with a 114-94 victory over the Miami Heat, who were missing important players Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier.Jayson Tatum recorded his first career triple-double in the playoffs, contributing to Boston with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Boston received 20 points and four assists from Derrick White, one of six players to record double figures.The Heat were quickly outdone by Boston, which went on a 17-2 run in the opening three minutes. Tatum seized a stray ball during the opening possession of the game and assisted Jaylen Brown in making a three-pointer; it was Brown’s first of 22.As a result of the TD Garden crowd’s vitality, the Celtics established a commanding lead over the Heat in the third quarter, defeating them 31-14.The deficit was widened to 34 points in the fourth quarter. Miami managed to narrow the lead to 14 in the dying moments, but Boston was able to secure the victory.However, tempers flared in the dying minute when Caleb Martin struck Tatum while attempting to grab a rebound, sending him falling to the ground. When Brown collided with Martin, a brief scramble ensued between the players, and both Brown and Martin committed double technical penalties.For Miami, Bam Adebayo tallied 24 points. Aside from Delon Wright’s seventeen points, Jaime Jaquez Jr. contributed sixteen.Tyler Herro was anticipated to deliver a dominant performance but remained largely subdued, accumulating 11 points on four of eleven field goal attempts.This season, Boston prevailed in all three regular-season encounters against the Heat, including a 33-point rout in Miami that mirrored this contest in Butler’s absence.

The eighth-seeded Heat defied expectations and advanced to the NBA Finals from the same position in the postseason a year ago; Butler’s heroics were crucial to that feat.However, his anticipated absence for several weeks leaves a discernible vacancy in the Miami roster.During Miami’s 105-104 loss to the 76ers in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 Eastern Conference Play-In tie, the prominent player suffered an MCL ιnjury. Butler played an extraordinary three-quarters of the game and accumulated an admirable stat line despite suffering the ιnjury, which undoubtedly worsened the condition.Wednesday marks the Heat’s return to the TD Garden for Game 2.TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. Discovery+ is the streaming platform where TNT Sports is available in the United Kingdom. Subscribers can access TNT Sports, Eurosport, and entertainment in a single location. Additionally, TNT Sports is available via BT, EE, Sky, and Vιrgιn Media.