NBA Playoffs: Ugly Brawl Breaks Out as Jaylen Brown & 28YO Heat Star Escalate Tensions in Game 1

The Boston Celtics annihilated the Miami Heat with a convincing 114-94 victory in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series. However, the real drama unfolded in the game’s closing moments as tensions between these familiar foes reached a boiling point. With just one minute remaining on the clock, a heated scuffle erupted between Caleb Martin and Jaylen Brown.

The incident unfolded when Jayson Tatum hit the floor hard after a collision with Martin while vying for a rebound. Brown, sensing foul play, immediately confronted the 28-year-old. The situation quickly escalated into a heated exchange before officials and teammates intervened to diffuse the situation. Both of them were whistled for technical fouls as a result.

As for Jayson Tatum, he quickly propped himself back up from the ground after the hard fall and finished the night with his first career playoff triple-double. In the post-game interview, Tatum shrugged off Martin’s hard foul as just part of “playoff basketball,” emphasizing that he was “feeling good” despite the incident.

The Celtics beat the Heat

The Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat were simply no match for the Boston Celtics. Boston came out all guns blazing, scoring the game’s first 14 points, while Miami didn’t get on the scoreboard until Bam Adebayo made a jumper with 8:44 left in the first quarter. Then the Celtics built a commanding 34-point lead, but a spirited 35-13 run by the Heat in the first 9:08 of the fourth quarter, fueled by Delon Wright’s five 3-pointers, narrowed the gap to just 14 points. However, it was too late, as Boston closed the final 2:52 minutes on an 8-2 run to secure a convincing 20-point win.

The biggest game-changer was the three-point line. Boston attempted nearly 60% (49) of its shots from beyond the arc, sinking 44.9% of them—22 in total. Meanwhile, Miami only made 12 of its attempted 37 three-pointers. The Celtics made 19 of those 22 three-pointers in the first three quarters, while Miami connected just 5-of-28 from the deep during the span.

Four of Boston’s five starters scored more than 17 points, with Jayson Tatum leading the charge, scoring 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. From the Heat’s side, Bam Adebayo led the team with 24 points, while Delon Wright contributed 17 off the bench, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 16. Moreover, Miami finished the game with a minus-10 and allowed the Celtics to grab 10 offensive rebounds, leading to 11 second-chance opportunities. However, the Heat will have a chance to even the score on Wednesday when the two teams meet for Game 2 at TD Garden.