Tatum’s 31 points help Celtics level series with heat 2-2

The Boston Celtics tied their NBA Eastern Conference finals series with the Miami Heat 102-82 on Monday. With 31 points, Jayson Tatum recovered his scoring touch.

Two days after dropping their first home game of the best-of-seven finals, Boston tied the series at 2-2 with a one-sided game four blowouts at the TD Garden.

Tatum was backed up by Payton Pritchard (14 points) and Derrick White (11 points), who also had eight rebounds and five assists (13). Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams both had 12 points.

Al Horford led a strong Boston defense with 13 rebounds and four blocks.

With 23 points off the bench, Miami’s Victor Oladipo led the club in scoring.

The starting lineup for Miami did not reach double figures, scoring only 18 points.

“We just came and redeemed ourselves,” Tatum said.

“We knew this was a game that we really needed, to protect home court. After the last game, we were just ready to play, to get back out here and play better.

“It’s been a back and forth series so far. It’s best of three now, we’ll just go away now for game five and get ready.”

Erik Spoelstra, the coach of the Miami Heat, asserted that his team had never recovered from a terrible start.

Spoelstra remarked, “They came out and leaped on us.” “I believe our offensive damaged us the most in the beginning. We simply weren’t focused.

“However, we’re not going to make any excuses.” They definitely outplayed us tonight. We were never able to acquire a handle on the game.”

Highs and lows

Spoelstra predicted that his team would respond in game five.

“This is part of the playoffs. There’s a lot of extreme highs and extreme lows, and a lot of emotion,” said Spoelstra. “You just have to stay the course and stay together.

“And it’s a great series. You have to embrace that.”

Boston took advantage of Miami’s abnormally quiet start to take a 29-11 lead in the first quarter, effectively winning the game.

Tatum, who had only 10 points in the game three loss on Saturday, was back to his sharpshooting best in the first quarter, scoring 12 points.

In the second quarter, the Celtics kept the pressure on, stretching their lead to 27 points at one point as Miami’s offense was unable to penetrate a Boston defense boosted by Williams’ return.

Miami’s starting lineup’s first-half point total was an excellent representation of their offensive ineptness.

The Heat’s starters combined for 10 points in the first half, with only Victor Oladipo’s 18 points off the bench rescuing them from being completely destroyed.

Miami made just 11 of 40 field-goal attempts in the first half, for a 27.5 percent shooting rate.

Any hopes Miami had of mounting a second-half comeback were quickly shattered in the third quarter.

After the break, Boston outscored the Heat 12-4 to grab a comfortable 32-point lead at 69-37.

Midway through the third quarter, Williams left with what seemed to be left knee pain, allowing Miami to cut the lead to 23 points at 73-50, but it was only a momentary reprieve.

Boston proceeded to score regularly in the fourth quarter, and with just under nine minutes remaining, they had built a 31-point lead, 88-57, and were on their way to a wire-to-wire victory.

The series now shifts back to Florida, with game five set for Wednesday in Miami.