Phew. Boston’s 147-129 thrashing of Miami was something else.

It’s always tough sledding against the Heat, but a 53-point first quarter (11-15 from 3) and 80 points in the first half are indicative of just how much these teams have changed. The Heat and Celtics are on both ends of the pace spectrum at 104.4 vs. 95.46 possessions per game respectively. However, Boston was happy to ramp up the speed. Even with more possessions to deal with, they finished with just seven turnovers and allowed only twelve offensive boards.

The Celtics are 2-1 on their road trip against potential first round opponents and continue to be a steady +600 to raise Banner 19 with our friends at FanDuel and the favorite to rep the Eastern Conference in the 2026 NBA Finals.

37 minutes, 43 points (4-10 from 3, 5-7 from the free throw line, 17-29 from the field), 3 rebounds, 7 assists, one turnover, +9

Achilles tendinitis cost Brown two games last week and he looked a little unsettled by his own standards in his Atlanta homecoming on Monday.

Andrew Wiggins was a defensive menace against Brown and Tatum in the 2022 NBA Finals, but Brown enacted some revenge, scoring the first 11 points for Boston on 4-4 shooting. He was more relaxed and deliberate with his drives and post-ups and didn’t seem hellbent on just creating contact and trying to draw fouls.

By the end of the night, Brown tallied 43 points on South Beach after ESPN’s Doris Burke called him a dangerous scorer on all three levels. The seven assists with just one turnover was a nice bounce back after six TOs against the Hawks.

Grade: A+

37 minutes, 25 points (4-13 from 3, 3-4 from the free throw line, 9-21 from the field), 18 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 steals, +7

A masterclass in Charlotte helped earn Tatum the Player of the Week honor and after two days off, he continued his recovery to that all-around game that made him an MVP-candidate over the last three seasons before his Achilles tear.

How about a triple-double against a heated rival?

25-18-11 plus some effective defense against Bam Adebayo is another notch on Tatum’s belt.

Grade: A+

33 minutes, 16 points (6-8 from the free throw line, 5-7 from the field), 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 3 blocks, +28

Queta does so many unsung things on the court like setting wide screens on the perimeter and rebounding the ball, but sometimes, it’s just nice to see him make a couple of loud blocks on the defensive end.

In the fourth quarter, with all eyes on the Jays, Queta was the beneficiary at the dunker spot and grabbing offensive rebounds on pursuit alone.

Grade: A-

29 minutes, 23 points (5-7 from 3, 0-1 from the free throw line, 9-11 from the field), 3 rebounds, one steal, one block, +23

After coming off the bench during days off for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Hauser was back in the starting lineup and started off hot, hitting his first six shots including five 3s in the first quarter.

After halftime, Hauser went to his mid-range game. After Miami cut it to ten heading into the fourth, Hauser attacked a pair of closeouts for a couple of 12-footers that kept the Heat at bay. It was a nice breakout for Hauser after scuffling through the road trip.

Grade: A

34 minutes, 6 points (0-1 from 3, 3-4 from the field), 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 turnovers, one block, +6

If you’ve read the last couple player grades, we’ve documented White’s shooting slump over the last several games. He only took four shots in the game, but his fingerprints are all over the win. This sequence is akin to that scene in Top Gun: Maverick when they’re playing dogfight football on the beach.

Grade: B-

31 minutes, 14 points (4-7 from 3, 5-9 from the field), 3 rebounds, 4 assists, one block, +20

Pritchard was the fifth leading scorer in this offensive exhibition and acted as more of a play finisher rather than a playmaker last night. That will happen with Tatum and Brown going nuclear on the Heat.

Grade: B+

18 minutes, 8 points (2-2 from 3, 3-4 from the field), 2 rebounds, 4 assists, one turnover, one steal +14

Scheierman’s contributions can often go unseen. His blue collar work shouldn’t go underappreciated. When he shoulders a drive from the free throw line to the baseline and makes the right pass around the horn don’t seem like much, but it’s that consistency that has made him a mainstay in the rotation.

But every once in a while, Baylor Showmanship will pull out the bag of Pistol Pete passes and connect on a fancy behind-the-back:

Grade: B

15 minutes, 12 points (2-4 from 3, 5-10 from the field), 2 rebounds, one block, -10

Former CelticsBlogger Sam LaFrance over at Hardwood Houdini documented Garza’s near-the-rim shot package and they were all on display in Miami: the decel step, the up-and-under, and his three-point shot. Twelve points in under fifteen minutes is making it easy to forget that Nikola Vucevic is still out with a fractured finger.

Grade: A

5 minutes, 0 points (0-1 from the field), one rebound, one assist, one steal, one block, -7

The defensive demon notched two stocks (steals plus blocks) in a game where both teams combined for 276 points. Sometimes, you’re a square peg for a round hole.

Grade: B

DNP-CDs: Hugo Gonzalez, Ron Harper Jr., Max Shulga, Amari Williams, John Tonje, Charles Bassey

Inactives: Nikola Vucevic