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Celtics score team-record 53 points in 1st quarter at Miami
Boston’s barrage is tied for the second-highest-scoring first quarter in NBA regular-season history.
Tim Reynolds | Associated Press | April 2, 2026 1:05 AM
Boston pours it on early, notching a franchise-record 53 points in the 1st quarter against the Miami Heat.
MIAMI (AP) — The Boston Celtics had a first quarter like none other in their storied history.
The Celtics scored 53 points — their biggest-scoring first quarter ever — in the opening 12 minutes of their game against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. Boston’s barrage is tied for the second-highest-scoring first quarter in NBA regular-season history.
Golden State had a 55-point opening quarter at Portland on April 9, 2023, and Miami had a 53-point opening quarter against Charlotte on Nov. 7.
It was the second-most points Boston has scored in a quarter; the Celtics had 54 in the fourth period of a game against the San Diego Clippers on Feb. 25, 1970. And it was the most points Miami ever allowed in any quarter; the Heat gave up 50 in the fourth quarter of a game at Seattle on Jan. 5, 1990.
Boston made 11 3-pointers in the opening quarter, with Sam Hauser going 5-for-5 from beyond the arc while playing all 12 minutes. Jaylen Brown had 20 points by himself in the quarter — the ninth 20-point quarter of his career, including playoffs — and Hauser finished with 17.
Boston led 53-33 at the end of the quarter, after shooting 20-for-28 from the field and 11-for-15 from 3-point range.
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