All five starters scored at least 17 points as the Boston Celtics earned a 119-111, home-opening win over the Miami Heat in Friday night’s rematch of the 2023 Eastern Conference finals.
Derrick White scored 14 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and went 5-of-7 from 3-point range to lead Boston to a second straight win.
Jaylen Brown (27 points), Jayson Tatum (22), Kristaps Porzingis (17) and Jrue Holiday (17 points, 10 rebounds) rounded out the Boston starting lineup.
Tyler Herro scored a team-high 28 points with six assists and six rebounds for Miami. Bam Adebayo (27), Jimmy Butler (14) and Kyle Lowry (13) also scored in double figures.
White’s two treys during the opening run of the fourth quarter turned a two-point deficit into a 96-90 lead with 9:27 left.
Miami made it a two-point game two minutes later, but Brown’s five straight points brought Boston over the century mark with 6:53 left.
A Tatum driving dunk and a White 3-pointer highlighted a 7-3 run, bringing Boston’s lead to 109-101 at 4:19. Herro and Love hit triples to make it a one-possession game in the final minute.
After a coach’s challenge on a Butler foul was unsuccessful, Boston scored the final five points — including a Brown three — to seal the win.
Five straight points by Porzingis extended the Celtics’ lead to seven 3:04 into the third, but Herro’s back-to-back 3-pointers started a three-minute stretch over which Miami took back a 79-76 lead.
After an Adebayo three-point play and Herro technical free throw, Lowry’s running pull-up triple flipped the score toward the visitors. A Tatum 3-pointer brought Boston back within a basket in the waning seconds.
Boston’s strong finishing kick in both the first and second quarters allowed it to take a 60-55 halftime lead.
In the first, two triples by Herro — who had 12 points compared to Boston’s 16 halfway through — highlighted a 10-0 run that helped bring Miami’s lead into double digits.
A Brown three-point play helped Boston respond with its own 10-point spurt, closing within 28-25 to end the opening frame.
Miami started the second quarter on a 4-of-7 3-point run, including back-to-back Duncan Robinson shots after Tatum’s baseline drive tied the score at 33.
The Celtics, however, responded and took the lead after a Holiday layup and Brown steal-and-dunk back-to-back with 2:51 left. They held Miami to only six points in the final 5:04 before halftime.
–Field Level Media
