Heat check: Celtics star duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are THEM

It was Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who brought the heat down in Miami.  The Boston Celtics star duo combined for 57 points in the team’s 111-104 victory over Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat in an Eastern Conference Finals rematch.

If you are counting, the Celtics are 2-0 against other contenders in the East and looking unstoppable when their two main guys are engaged and taking over the offensive side of the court like they have been the last two games.

In victories over the Philadelphia 76ers and Heat, Tatum and Brown has made an early season statement by combining for 127 points with each averaging over 30 points per game.  For those who keep shading the Celtics duo as not worthy of a top 3 duo in the entire NBA, they are not only showing they are not taking anyone’s “mess” this season, but they are also attacking the basket and getting the other players involved.

Boston Celtics duo Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum on a mission

There is a hunger there as both players are starving to get back to the promise land of the NBA Finals.  In a loaded East, it will be a difficult path, but if both continue to get it done on both sides of the court…watch out NBA.

But, in watching Friday night’s game, the most important aspect of Tatum and Brown’s maturation is the way they helped the Celtics withhold a Heat run in the third quarter.  At times last season and in the playoffs, the Boston Celtics as a team failed to punch back when the other team was jabbing.  Down in South Beach, they took the hits and just got stronger.

While the Celtics got their typical contribution from players like Marcus Smart and Al Horford, the bench also made nice contributions, mainly Grant Williams, Sam Hauser and Noah Vonleh off the bench.  This further contributes to the maturation of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown because now we are seeing them make other players on the court better.

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That is what top NBA duos do and Boston Celtics interim head coach Joe Mazzulla is loving it and also feeding off that hunger he sees in their eyes.

"“They’re hungry.  They’re great people.  They’re great players.  And they really have a desire to get better every single day on both ends of the court,” Mazzulla said following Wednesday’s practice, via NBA.com.  “And they want to know the why; they want to know why this worked, why it didn’t work, and how it can work better.”"

Although both are 25 years of age and younger, they have quite a bit of experience, capped off by the experience of losing in the NBA Finals after finally getting over the hump of winning the Eastern Conference Finals.  What’s scary is that they are still learning and growing their games, they are feeding off one another and have that one goal to lead the Celtics to Banner 18.

Again, it is just two games, but neither Tatum nor Brown look like they are taking their foot off the pedal.  They are not Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, but as a top NBA duo in today’s NBA, who could argue?  Joel Embiid, James Harden?  Okay, we saw just saw who the better duo was there.

If anyone is still tossing Kevin Durand and Kyrie Irving out there, it takes more than on-the-court talent to be the best and that’s speaking to you Stephen A. Smith.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are them and the Boston Celtics look engaged, very engaged.