By simply looking at the first quarter box score, it’s clear that the Celtics ramped up the defensive intensity after letting up a whopping 23 triples to Miami in Game 2. Through the first 12 minutes of Game 3, the Heat scored 12 points on abysmal 5-for-21 shooting.

Of course, Miami’s shooting numbers dropping off following a record-breaking Game 2 makes sense, yet it wasn’t all missed open shots. The C’s were forcing turnovers, maintaining a good level of physicality, and preventing the Heat from settling in on offense.

Celtics defensive specialist Jrue Holiday was proud of his team’s performance on that side of the ball and joked about the all-around defensive effort, per Souichi Terada of MassLive.

“We got great 1-on-1 defenders,” he said. “Before I was here, they talked about guys could play defense. Now that I got here, they all play defense. You talk about the white guys, the white guys play defense.”

Since arriving in Beantown this past offseason, Holiday has helped anchor Boston’s defense in the absence of former Celtics veteran Marcus Smart. Although the 33-year-old had just three points during a quiet offensive outing, he facilitated the ball well and notched a steal and two blocks.

As for the aforementioned “white guys,” center Kristaps Porzingis had a pair of blocks and was giving Heat center Bam Adebayo trouble all night. Point guard Payton Pritchard even joined in on the lockdown, forcing Miami turnovers that would eventually result in points.

Pritchard w/the great defense, Hauser with the three & Boston is up 27-12 early in the 2nd. #DifferentHere pic.twitter.com/DgTy7js0y8

— KWAPT (@KWAPT) April 27, 2024

How Celtics turned the tides with team defense

In Game 2, Miami shot 49.3% from the field and went an incredible 53.5% from 3-point land. Conversely, the Heat shot 41.6% from the field in Game 3 and only converted on 32.1% of their 3-point attempts.

Part of this decline was a regression to the means, but it was also the Celtics relying on their defense to do the heavy lifting rather than their 3-point shooting.

When asked about what the C’s did best on defense, head coach Joe Mazzulla seemed to like it all.

“Individual defense. Team defense. I thought Jrue was great. I don’t know when he got his first shot, but I thought he dictated the defensive tempo of the game. I thought Tatum answered the call defensively. I thought [Porzingis] and Al [Horford] did a great job.”

“I thought everybody—I thought our bench came in and really pushed the pace on both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla continued. “So, just connected, tough, physical, individual defense. Team defense.”

Celtics star Jayson Tatum specifically shouted out his squad’s defense as well during a post-game interview with TNT.

“That’s where we’re gonna win games at, the defensive end,” he told NBA insider Chris Haynes. “Can’t always rely on somebody getting hot … if you can get stops, you can figure it out.”

Boston utilized the long ball to demolish opponents throughout the regular season (and in Game 1). However, the Celtics shot under 30% from beyond the arc in Game 3 and still managed to prevail thanks to their defense.

They’ll need to continue to win in different ways in the postseason, which is a much more gritty version of the 82-game regular season. Miami might throw some new defensive schemes at Boston too, as Game 4 tips off at the Kaseya Center on Monday night. So, the C’s will have to be ready for whatever comes next on both ends of the floor in order to leave South Beach with a 3-1 series lead.