Jayson Tatum's triple-double powers Celtics to Game 1 blowout of Heat

BOSTON — Kristaps Porzingis predicted the Celtics’ first-round series against the Miami Heat would be a “war.”

Bam Adebayo used the word “dogfight” to describe the teams’ fourth playoff meeting in five years.

Game 1, though, proved to be a walkover.

The Celtics kicked off their latest quest for Banner 18 by breezing past their perennial postseason nemesis, routing the shorthanded Heat 114-94 Sunday afternoon at TD Garden.

Jayson Tatum notched his first playoff triple-double (23 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds) to lead the way for Boston, which had six players reach double figures. Derrick White scored a team-high 20 points, with Porzingis notching 18 in his postseason Celtics debut and Jaylen Brown adding 17 points and eight boards.

As a team, the Celtics attempted 49 3-pointers and made 44.9% of them, despite a 1-for-8 showing from deep for Tatum. The Heat struggled from long range for much of the day, hitting six of their 12 made 3s in the fourth quarter.

Miami played without six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, who is expected to miss several weeks after suffering an MCL injury during the Play-In tournament. The Heat beat the Bulls without Butler on Friday to clinch the No. 8 seed, but they were quickly outclassed by the top-seeded C’s.

The Celtics raced out to a 14-0 lead — prompting Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to call his first timeout less than two minutes after tip-off — and never trailed. Brown drilled a 3-pointer on the opening possession and followed it up with a thunderous dunk. Boston also got buckets from Porzingis, Tatum and Jrue Holiday, before Adebayo scored Miami’s first points.

Another Adebayo make moments later briefly swung momentum, initiating an 8-0 Heat run. Boston led by just five at the end of the first quarter and three early in the second, before a burst of bench scoring pushed its lead back to double digits.

Sam Hauser hit 3-pointers on three consecutive Celtics possessions, then a fourth at the 8:37 mark of the second quarter as Boston reestablished control. The third-year sharpshooter emerged as a key contributor this season, and his 12 points Sunday nearly equaled his total from the Celtics’ entire 2023 playoff run (13).

The Celtics took a 15-point lead into halftime and put the game away with a dominant third quarter, burying their underdog visitors with a relentless onslaught of threes. All eight of Boston’s rotation players made at least one triple in the win, while White, Brown and Al Horford all hit from deep as part of a 25-5 run to close out the third. The Celtics led by 32 entering the fourth quarter, though a late Heat push prevented head coach Joe Mazzulla from emptying his bench.

It was the first meaningful game in weeks for Boston, which clinched the NBA’s best record on April 4 and rested some or all of its starters in five of its final six regular-season contests. Mazzulla put the team through a grueling, two-plus-hour practice on Tuesday, and outside of Tatum’s spotty shooting from beyond the arc, his players showed little rust against Miami.

Holiday was the only Celtics starter who did not score in double figures (six points). But he contributed seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks, and was vital in limiting top Heat scorer Tyler Herro, whose 11 points were his fewest since Jan. 5.

Adebayo paced Miami with 24 points and six rebounds.

The Celtics will look to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series Wednesday night at TD Garden.

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