The Celtics overcame a dreadful offensive first half and a 22-point Heat lead to secure their fifth straight win Friday night.
The Celtics overcame a dreadful offensive first half and a 22-point Heat lead to secure their fifth straight win Friday night.
Derrick White’s corner 3-pointer with 1:31 remaining put Boston ahead for good in a 98-96 thriller over Miami at TD Garden.
Veteran newcomer Nikola Vucevic, acquired from Chicago earlier in the week for Anfernee Simons, recorded a double-double off the bench in his Celtics debut, finishing with 11 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals in 28 minutes.
Payton Pritchard, pushed from starter to sixth man after Simons’ exit, topped 20 points for the third straight game, scoring 19 of his 24 in the second half to help fuel Boston’s comeback. White shot 6-for-20 from the floor but scored 21 points and blocked four shots, including one in the final minute that would have tied the game.
Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 29 points on 11-of-25 shooting, offsetting his seven turnovers.
Up next for the 34-18 Celtics: a marquee matinee matchup against the New York Knicks on Super Bowl Sunday (12:30 p.m.).
The Celtics opened with a double-big lineup for the second straight game, sending out Neemias Queta and Luka Garza alongside White, Brown and Sam Hauser.
Previous Celtics teams heavily relied on multi-center units — last season’s played more than 1,200 minutes with two of Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Luke Kornet and Queta on the floor — but they’ve been almost entirely absent from Joe Mazzulla’s game plans this season. Before Queta and Garza started together in Wednesday’s road romp over Houston, they’d shared the floor for just three total minutes.
