The Miami Heat were without Jimmy Butler for Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Playoffs matchup with the Boston Celtics. It showed.

Jayson Tatum and the Celtics absolutely clobbered the Heat on Sunday, 114-94, as the top seed in the Eastern Conference took the first step toward exorcising its playoff demons against Miami.

It was a balanced effort, with Tatum posting the first postseason triple-double of his career (23 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) to go along with strong performances from Kristaps Porziņģis (18 points), Jaylen Brown (17 points, eight rebounds) and Derrick White (20 points) all putting together solid games.

NBA @NBA

To step back like that at 7'3 is wild.<br><br>KP up to 16 points in Game 1 on ABC 🔥 <a href="">

Boston Celtics @celtics

lightning strike 🌩️ <a href="">

The Celtics shot lights out from deep (22-of-49, 44.9 percent), shared the rock (27 assists) and spread the love offensively (six players in double-digit scoring), leading by as many as 34 points in the third quarter.

Bobby Krivitsky @BobbyKrivitsky

The Celtics broke the game open with a dominant third quarter. They outscored the Heat 31-14, held Miami to 28.6% shooting, and drilled 7/13 threes. Porzingis and Brown had ten points each. No one on Miami scored seven. 91-59 Boston entering the final frame.

The Heat did chip the deficit down 14 points late in the fourth, but overall this was a comfortable win for the Celtics. Fans and pundits alike on social media were feeling the performance, both from the team and Tatum:

Kevin Garnett @KevinGarnett5KG

Lookin like the C's came out to put a foot on neck and make a statement … no confidence will be allowed 💯🤝🏾<a href="">#NBAPlayoffs</a> <a href="">#Celtics</a>

Kendrick Perkins @KendrickPerkins

Ain't nothing like a Sunday ass whipping!!! I know it's one game but it's absolutely NOTHING to the Heat can do with these Celtics. Carry the hell on…

Pat McAfee @PatMcAfeeShow

Celtics are quite a wagon eh

John-Griner Canady @Johng_c

Respectfully, not even Jimmy Butler could save you from this situation 😂 <a href="">#Celtics</a> <a href="">

Chris Herring @Herring_NBA

Celtics fans are doing the wave here to start the 4Q. Yeah...

Nate Jones @JonesOnTheNBA

Heat/Celtics became a series not even worth watching as soon as Jimmy got hurt. NEXT!

Adam Kaufman @AdamMKaufman

This top 8 on the <a href="">#Celtics</a>…special

heisenberg @khungo_

Tatum triple double , we take those 🙏🏽

The Official Podcast of Ted @OfficialOrville

it's all good now that i realize the Celtics were tanking for Tatum's triple double

Velvet Hoop @swackosaurus

Tatum with the triple double in game 1 and he shot terribly Celtics gon get them boys outta there in 5 max

Unique @niquemilly

Jayson Tatum really be balling. He's making me like the Celtics again 🤢😭💚

Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 24 points and six boards.

There's no doubt that the Heat are in trouble if Butler can't return to this series. It would have been a tough series with him after the Celtics steamrolled through the NBA this season to the tune of 64 wins.

There's also plenty of history in this matchup. These teams have played each other in four of the past five postseasons. Both last year and in the 2019-20 season, Miami kept the Celtics from a berth in the NBA Finals. In the 2021-22 season, it was Boston who prevailed in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The two teams have now played 21 games in the playoffs against each other since the 2019-20 campaign. The Heat hold the narrowest of advantages in the matchup, 11-10.

But it sure does feel as though the pendulum will swing back to Boston this year, potentially in a major way as Butler is forced to watch from the sidelines. Game 1 felt like a preview of a lopsided series to come.