Miami’s Hassan Whiteside is an imposing figure in the paint, so much so that teams have to often generate offense from the perimeter.
The Boston Celtics were more than OK with that as their perimeter shooting paved the way for a 112-104 win over the Miami Heat.
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Boston (10-7) has now won four in a row on the road, and five of their last seven games overall.
And they did it the way the usually do it: they made lots of jumpers.
On Monday, Boston shot 48.2 percent from the field while connecting on 40.7 percent (11-for-27) of their 3s and were outscored 54-40 on points in the paint.
Boston Celtics
“With Whiteside in there, it’s not easy to get to the rim and score,” said Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. “We had our issues scoring at the rim, as everybody does against them. This is a game where you know you have to make jump shots to win.”
Here are the Stars, Studs and Duds from Monday night’s game.
STARS
Isaiah Thomas
It was a much better showing for Isaiah Thomas in the second half which is when he scored 21 of his team-high 25 points. He also had a team-high eight assists.
Goran Dragic
He carried the Heat most of the game, either scoring the ball or finding teammates for scoring opportunities. He finished with a double-double of 27 points and a game-high 17 assists.
Avery Bradley
It was a steady performance by Bradley who had 18 points on 8-for-16 shooting in addition to grabbing six rebounds.
STUDS
Hassan Whiteside
The numbers – 25 points, 17 rebounds – look impressive, but most of Whiteside’s production came when the Heat were essentially exchanging baskets with the Celtics who by that point had built a double-digit lead.
Jae Crowder
He’s looking healthier with each passing game. Against the Heat he had 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Kelly Olynyk
He came off the bench and did his job – stretch the floor – at a high level in the first half. He was one of six Celtics in double figures scoring with 14 points to go with six rebounds and four assists.
DUDS
Miami’s first half offense
The Heat were horrible offensively in the first half, scoring just 31 points while shooting a woeful 37.8 percent (14-for-37) from the field which included them missing all 12 of their 3-point attempts. In addition to missed shots, they also committed a bunch of turnovers (11) that led to 15 points for the Celtics.