On Monday night in Miami, the Boston Celtics seized a commanding 3-1 series lead against the Heat, but the victory was not without its price. With Kristaps Porzingis leaving in the second quarter due to what the team called “right calf soreness” and Jayson Tatum rolling his ankle in the fourth, the 102-88 victory for the Celtics raised serious concerns about the team’s future. The Celtics led by double digits for the majority of the night. In their pursuit of advancing to the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Boston Celtics jumped out to an early 3-1 lead over the Miami Heat.
Derrick White had a tremendous performance to lead the Celtics tonight. Even though Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum shot a combined 12-of-32 from the field that night, the journeyman guard still managed to lead all scorers with an incredible 38 points, including eight made three-pointers. Even with Bam Adebayo at the helm, Erik Spoelstra’s offense for Miami seemed off. The Heat shot 40% from the field and 27% from beyond the arc.
The game this evening got off to a sluggish start due to energetic officials and tense defensive play. The first minutes were slow for both teams, with the Celtics getting to the line for a few of free throws but giving the ball away on several occasions as a result of screens that weren’t legal and fouls on loose balls. Unfortunately for Miami coach Erik Spoelstra, White took over after the first timeout and scored eight points in 58 seconds to prompt Erik to call a timeout. Contributing to the Celtics’ commanding 34-24 lead in the first quarter, his 16 points were a playoff career high.TҺe Bоstоn оffensive wаs just getting gоing wҺen WҺite went оff. TҺe twо stаrs fоr tҺeir teаm stаrteԀ tҺe gаme in а lоw-key mаnner. Brоwn аnԀ Tаtum scоreԀ а cоmbineԀ 10 pоints in tҺe first Һаlf, аnԀ Tаtum, in pаrticulаr, аppeаreԀ tо be оut оf sоrts аs tҺe gаme prоgresseԀ. In аԀԀitiоn tо аn оffensive fоul аnԀ sоme uncҺаrаcteristic Ԁefensive blunԀers, Һe sҺоt just 1-fоr-4 frоm tҺe fielԀ, tҺоugҺ Һe ԀiԀ Һit оne silky tҺree-pоinter. Mаzzullа ԀeciԀeԀ tо senԀ Һim bаck tо tҺe bencҺ sо Һe cоulԀ regrоup аs Һis terrible perfоrmаnce wоrseneԀ.
Because their second quarter performance versus Miami has been their best so far, the Celtics had a chance to seize control of the game before halftime. However, the Celtics’ offense looked much less impressive this time around, after averaging over 37 points in the second quarter of the game. Before White retook control, the first six minutes of the quarter saw both sides score seven points apiece. After going on a three-point shooting streak of his own, he put the Celtics up 16 points with an absurd pull-up jumper. Boston took a 17-point lead into halftime, 53-36, thanks to 22 points from White in the first half.
Kristaps Porzingis looked to have hurt his leg late in the first half, which was a major concern. With little more than two minutes left in the second quarter, he seemed to sense something in his right leg and promptly gave the signal to leave the game. As the Celtics called a timeout due to a foul, Porzingis hobbled off the court. A “right calf tightness” was the official diagnosis, and it cast doubt on Porzingis’s ability to play again.
White maintained his role as the Celtics’ leading scorer as the second half commenced. Early in the third quarter, they went ahead by more than 20 points thanks to the 29-year-old guard’s back-to-back dunks. Regardless of the Heat’s defensive efforts, White persisted in scoring goal after goal. After he scored 11 more points and made another three-pointer, the Celtics led 81-59 at the end of the third quarter, putting them within striking distance of a 3-1 series lead, all within the span of 12 minutes.