The Boston Celtics handily destroyed the Miami Heat 108-89 on Monday night at TD Garden.
Without Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Jrue Holiday available for the Celtics, the Heat got out to an early 7-0 lead, but Boston went on a 17-2 run and never looked back.
The Celtics returned to the win column after dropping a 115-111 decision to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night, snapping a seven-game win streak. Boston moved to 17-4 on the season, while Miami fell a game below .500 at 9-10.
Here are three studs and one dud from the Celtics win:
STUDS
Jaylen Brown
Brown led all scorers with 29 points in the Celtics victory. He was 8-for-21 from the field, including 4-for-11 from beyond the arc. The Heat did not have an answer for Brown in the game.
Payton Pritchard
Pritchard had an amazing night off the bench for Boston, and it was a good thing because his 25 points were pretty much all the bench provided. It was his fourth straight game with 20-plus points.
Drew Peterson (23 minutes) and Neemias Queta (15 minutes) combined for 11 points on a combined 4-for-8 shooting. The duo did collect a combined 10 defensive rebounds to keep the Heat from getting second-chance points.
Luke Kornet
The big man got the start with Porzingis and Horford sidelined, and he made the most of the 27 minutes he played.
The 7-foot-1 center was phenomenal at protecting the rim. Kornet had six blocks in the game to go with six points on 3-for-4 shooting. He collected four rebounds and had three assists in the Boston victory.
DUDS
Bam Adebayo
With Jimmy Butler sidelined with a knee injury, the Heat needed Adebayo to have a strong game if Miami had any chance of beating the Celtics.
Adebayo ended up with 15 points in the loss, but the veteran center had just two points in the first half, which came on Miami’s first shot of the game.
He missed his next seven shots before hitting a 10-foot jumper in the fourth quarter.
