Jayson Tatum had a bounce back game as he led the Boston Celtics to a 102-82 win over the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, levelling the series. Yet another blowout game in this series, which has looked different every game, with injuries for both teams having a big impact.

Derrick White was starting in place of the injured Marcus Smart, and he got the Celtics off to a 7-0 start by himself as the home team looked to push the pace. Defence is arguably the greatest asset of both teams, and it showed up big from Boston early and throughout.

The Miami Heat did not hit a field goal until the 3:22 mark of the first quarter, finishing 2/18 as a team in the opening period. This drought saw an 0/14 start from Miami as the Celtics opened an 18-1 lead, with Boston ultimately outscoring Miami 29-11 in the first.

Victor Oladipo was tasked with replacing the injured Tyler Herro’s impact on the offense and he got off to a great start in the 2 quarter, scoring five quickpoints, finishing with 12 points in the period. However, he was the only sparkon offense for Miami, Jayson Tatum adding 12 points of his own in the quarterblish a 24-point half time lead for Boston, 59-33.

The Celtics quickly stretched their lead to 32 points early in the third to end the game as a contest. Boston continuing to get to the free throw line for fun, finishing with 38 free throw attempts to just 14 attempts for Miami.

Al Horford only scored 5 points on Monday, but he was still a +33, thanks to his elite defence (which included 4 blocks) and overall play, again showing why Boston brought him back.

The one positive on the night for Miami was Duncan Robinson hitting his first three pointers of the series, going 4 of 8 from deep, which could help going forward. But their starters combined for just 18 points, the worst total in a playoff game since 1971.

Tatum led the way for Boston with 31 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists & 2 blocks on 50% shooting from the field, White contributed 13/8/6/3/1 with Payton Pritchard adding 14 points off the bench to continue his good scoring in this series.

Oladipo finished with 23/4/6 off the bench while Robinson added 14 points.

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