BOSTON — The Boston Celtics made 1 triple in the first half, lost the turnover battle, and scored under 100 points against the Miami Heat on Friday night. In spite of all this, they still managed to come out on top at TD Garden with a 98-96 victory, completing a 22-point comeback to secure their fifth straight win.
After scoring just 38 points through the first two quarters (which was a season-low), the Celtics erupted in the third quarter with 36 points. That was enough to make it a contest, and the Celtics finished strong with a go-ahead 3-pointer from guard Derrick White to give them a 98-96 lead with 1:31 remaining in the final frame. On the other end, White got a key block on Heat guard Davion Mitchell to keep the score the same with a 32.1 seconds to go.
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Despite collapsing, the Heat still had a shot at escaping Boston with a victory. Mitchell was open in the corner with under 3 ticks left, yet he missed the potential game-winner, dropping the Heat to 0-3 against the Celtics this season.
Mitchell still notched 13 points and 6 assists as part of a balanced Heat attack. As for the Green Team, White recorded 21 points and 4 blocks while star guard Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 29 points in 33 minutes of play.
Following their biggest comeback win of the 2025-26 campaign, the Celtics are 34-18 overall and in second place in the Eastern Conference. They face the team they just passed in the standings — the New York Knicks — at home during a Super Bowl Sunday matinee that starts at 12:30 p.m. ET.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: The Celtics overcame a brutal first half to shock the Heat
