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The Boston Celtics continued their winning streak with a win over the Miami Heat with a scoreline of 107-99.
Kyrie Irving was again the star of the match as he played a great all-round game to win this game for the Celtics. Boston took a 10 point lead after the first quarter but the Heat made a great comeback in the second quarter to tie the match at halftime. The Celtics then completely took over in the third quarter having a 37-18 advantage in that quarter alone. They never looked back and got the win against the Heat.
With the win, the Celtics improved to a 29-18 record in the Eastern Conference standings and are the 5th ranked team in the Conference. The Heat have a 22-23 record and are barely managing to cling on to the 7th place in the Eastern Conference playoff standings.
Let's have a look at the best and the worst players from the match.
Flop - Josh Richardson
Josh Richardson is one of the best players playing for the Miami Heat. He is a great 3PT shooter and can also defend with high intensity. But Richardson didn't look comfortable in this match and had one of his off nights.
Richardson scored 11 points and grabbed just 1 rebound in the match. He also shot a poor 4-13 from the field. He was not able to finish off some of his moves and struggled on the offensive end.
Richardson has been averaging 18 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game for the season for the Miami Heat. He is also a great defender and shots around 38% from the 3PT line. The Heat expect him to perform at a much higher level and he needs to put in an improved display in the next match.
Hit - Jason Tatum
Jason Tatum was one of the best rookies last season. He led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference finals in the absence of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward with some dazzling displays. He was expected to be the best rookie from his class but he has been inconsistent this season for the Celtics.
Tatum was very good in this match for the Celtics. He scored 19 points for the match and was the second leading scorer for the Celtics. He also shot a brilliant 8-13 from the field and 3-3 from the 3PT line.
Tatum is averaging 16.4 points per game on 45% shooting from the field this season. He needs to adapt his game this season in the presence of Kyrie Irving. His development and adjustment will be vital if the Celtics want to contend in the East.
Flop - Dwayne Wade
Dwayne Wade is in his final NBA season after a stellar career. He is still a very important contributor for this Heat side. He does not have the same pace and he can't penetrate to the basket with ease like he so often used to do. But Wade has developed a better outside shot in his final years and has impacted matches for the Miami Heat this season.
This was a poor display from Wade. He could not get himself going in this match and struggled coping with the Celtics defense. Wade finished the game with just 8 points and 2 rebounds. He shot 3-10 from the field and 0-2 from the 3PT line.
Wade is averaging 14 points per game for the Heat and he will come out a lot stronger in the next match when the Heat face off against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Hit - Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving is on a great run of his own. He is putting in match-winning displays in every match for the Celtics. He is trying his level best to guide this inexperienced core and help the Celtics contend in the East this season.
Irving was superb in this match. He was seen everywhere tonight against the Heat. He had a career high 8 steals in the match and continuously disrupted the opponent's offense. As usual, Irving lighted up on the offensive end. Irving scored 26 points in the game and also dished out 10 assists to his teammates. He shot a great 11-19 from the field and was again the best player on the night.
Irving has been averaging 23.5 points per game this season and has closed out so many matches for the Celtics. The Celtics hugely rely on their superstar to take them to the promise land this season.
Guess the Lakers players!
