Three Studs, Two Duds As Celtics Turn Down Heat For Road Win

The Boston Celtics visited the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center for a Friday night contest.

Boston improved to 48-19 with a 103-91 win while Miami fell to 29-37. The Celtics also clinched a playoff spot with the victory.

The Celtics missed a pair of starters. Kristaps Porzingis missed an eighth-straight game with his viral illness. Jaylen Brown did not play either with a right knee injury. Boston missed the scoring but did enough for a gritty effort.

Neither team had 80 points entering the fourth quarter. The Celtics did enough in the final minutes to best Miami in the battle.

The previous Eastern Conference playoff foes met for the final time this season in Miami before the Heat travel to Boston in early April.

Here are three studs and two duds from Boston’s win:

STUDS
Jrue Holiday
Holiday kicked it up as Boston’s top scorer early on in a rare big scoring night.

He reached double figures in the first quarter and finished the game with 25 points for the Celtics.

Payton Pritchard
Pritchard did his thing to assist Holiday with a few rhythm triples to boost the Celtics. The Boston guard finished with 11 points.

Pritchard gave the Celtics the lead back in the third quarter with a deep three from the wing.

Derrick White (fourth quarter)
The Celtics needed a jolt entering the fourth quarter. White finally woke up and played like the shooting threat he is for Boston.

White hit a pivotal three from way beyond the arc in the opening three minutes of the fourth quarter to give the Celtics some breathing room. White tallied 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter in Miami. Boston won the fourth quarter 25-14 with White as a major contributor.

DUDS
Derrick White (through three quarters)
Nights without starters often fall to White to charge the offense. His poor shooting night on Friday did not deliver, and he could not step up to help in the scoring department.

He opened the night shooting just 3-for-11 from the field and had just six points through the game’s first 36 minutes.

Boston’s second-quarter defense
The Celtics followed Holiday’s hot start, which quickly cooled off in the second quarter. The Heat erased a 14-point deficit with a 27-20 advantage, leading to a solid start in the third quarter.