Los Angeles: The Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat 118-84 on Wednesday to seal their spot in the second round of the NBA playoffs with a 4-1 series victory.
The postseason seed upset Miami in last year’s Eastern Conference finals, but they bounced back in a stunning one-sided wire-to-wire loss at TD Garden.
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White each scored 25 points to lead Boston, which barely made up for the absence of the injured Kristaps Porzingis.
The Celtics scored 41 points in the first quarter to open an 18-point lead.
They extended that lead to 22 points by halftime and kept the pressure on in the third quarter to take a 98-66 lead.
Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla asked the injured Jimmy Butler and Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Mazzulla, meanwhile, said he didn’t think about the Celtics’ playoff loss to Miami last season.
“I’m not worried about what happened last year,” Mazzulla said, “At the end of the day, I like how we approach the series no matter who’s playing.
We’ll wake up tomorrow and do it again against the other team.”
Cleveland leads 3-2.
The Celtics head into the next series brimming with confidence after brutalizing Miami for the eighth time in five games.
Sam Hauser added 17 points off the bench, while Jrue Holiday posted 10 points.
Bam Adebayo led Miami with 23 points, Tyler Herro had 15, and Caleb Martin had 10.
