The Boston Celtics were able to eliminate their longtime rivals, the Miami Heat, in five games and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals after blowing out the short handed Heat 118-84 on Wednesday night.
The Heat knocked off the Celtics during the 2023 conference finals when Miami was an 8th seed.
“That’s how it should be — we should be learning from our mistakes and things we could’ve done better and applying it to the next season, because we’re trying to have a different outcome this year,” Celtics star Jayson Tatum said, adding that beating Miami was necessary for the team to mature, according to ESPN’s Chris Herring.
“I think we just have to continue to play our game like we’ve been doing our whole career and continue to show our growth by trusting our teammates,” Celtics guard Jaylen Brown said. “I think if we’re going to win, we’re going to win as a team.”
The Celtics now await the winner of the Orlando Magic/Cleveland Cavaliers series, with Game 6 scheduled for Friday in Orlando.
