Celtics' Jayson Tatum issues challenge to Boston ahead of home date vs. Spurs
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The Boston Celtics did their best snowbird impression on Monday night, leaving the New England cold and making themselves at home in Florida at the Kaseya Center en route to a 103-85 beatdown of the Miami Heat. The Celtics have won seven straight games in the Heat’s building (including the playoffs) and are a league-best 22-6 on the road this season.
Although the Celtics were without two starters, four-time All-Star Jaylen Brown and two-time NBA champion Jrue Holiday, six-time All-Star Jayson Tatum led the way with a game-high 33 points. He shot 50% from the field on 26 attempts and tallied more points than a third of the Heat’s total offensive output.
The hot streak continues pic.twitter.com/FGbBgcmcPZ
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 11, 2025
A road victory is nothing new for the C’s, but Tatum is determined to make winning more common back home at TD Garden.
“We give up too many easy ones at home, so we got to make up for it,” Tatum said in a postgame interview via John Karalis. “We need to get back on track at home. We let our fans down too many times … so we owe it to them to play better at home.”
The Celtics are just 16-10 in Beantown during the 2024-25 campaign. That’s already four more losses than they had at home all of last regular season and postseason.
Meanwhile, the Celtics have notched six consecutive road wins, with half of them coming by at least a 15-point margin of victory. The Kaseya Center might not have felt like an opposing arena for them, though, as Boston fans started multiple “Let’s go Celtics” chants during the double-digit win. Veteran center Al Horford loved that, yet he wasn’t surprised.
“It’s a privilege when you’re a Celtic and when you go to an opposing arena and you have so many Celtics fans,” he stated. “And that’s how it usually is.”
"Let's go Celtics" chants breaking out and Al Horford is hyping up the crowd pic.twitter.com/ejsfiwZsq4
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) February 11, 2025
Horford earned those cheers tonight, posting 16 points, 10 rebounds, and zero turnovers in 33 minutes of play. At 38 years old, he helped lock down Heat star center Bam Adebayo, who finished with 22 points on 6-of-17 shooting. Nobody else scored over 13 points for Miami.
Each member of Boston’s starting five scored at least 13 points or more, including sharp-shooter Sam Hauser. He finished with 15 points (all coming in the first half) on five made 3s, which tied a season-high.
Sam Hauser DRILLS the corner three pic.twitter.com/0m5KAAC9ll
— Celtics Nation (@CelticsNationCP) February 11, 2025
Miami couldn’t match that shooting stroke, going 11-for-45 from 3-point land and 31-for-92 from the floor. Without 2025 All-Star Tyler Herro, the Heat couldn’t find any reliable source of offense. Even 2022 All-Star Andrew Wiggins, who was traded to Miami in a massive five-team deal centered around former Heat star Jimmy Butler, was struggling on both ends of the floor. The former Golden State Warrior went 3-for-12 in his Heat debut for 11 points, owning the second-worst plus-minus rating (minus-22) of any player on Monday evening.
As for the 38-16 Celtics, they’ll look to deliver on Tatum’s promise on Wednesday night when they face the 23-28 San Antonio Spurs. The C’s have beaten the Spurs four times in a row and are undefeated against their sophomore star, Victor Wembyanama. However, San Antonio made a significant move at the trade deadline for 2023 All-Star De’Aron Fox, and are much more talented than in recent years. The Spurs will aim to showcase that improved star power against the reigning champs ahead of the All-Star break.
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