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Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics will be without Kristaps Porzingis in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series, not that they will get much sympathy from the Miami Heat ahead of the possible closeout game Wednesday night.

Top-seeded Boston took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series with a 102-88 victory in Miami on Monday, but Porzingis exited late in the first half with a non-contact calf injury and did not return. He left the arena in a walking boot.

Porzingis was ruled out following a medical examination Tuesday that revealed a right soleus strain. It is the same injury that has kept the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo out of the playoffs so far.

"Nothing changes," Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. "Bringing the same mindset, intentionality, toughness, details to the next game regardless of who's available. It doesn't matter. There's no difference between the regular season and the playoffs. And all year, we've had guys step in and play."

The Heat lost Jimmy Butler to a sprained right MCL in the play-in tournament loss to the Philadelphia 76ers and Jaime Jaquez Jr. was ruled out for Game 5 with a hip injury. A third starter, Terry Rozier, has been out since April 7 with a neck injury.

Porzingis averaged 20.1 points and 7.2 rebounds in 57 regular season games this season. He averaged 14.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in the first three playoff games against the Heat, and had seven points and three rebounds before leaving Game 4 with 2:27 left in the second quarter. Boston was 21-4 this season when Porzingis did not play.

At the time, Boston's Al Horford said of the Porzingis injury: "Definitely concerning for me." Consider him fully concerned now.

Miami, the No. 8 seed, will need a victory Wednesday to avoid elimination and send the series back to Miami for Game 6 on Friday.

"Our guys really want to get this thing back to Miami and have just a great game in front of our fans," Miami coach Eric Spoelstra said after Monday's loss. "Our team wants to play well in front of our fans, so that's the motivation -- to get back here."

Short-handed Miami has had trouble keeping pace with Boston offensively for much of the series. The Heat scored 39 points in the first half of a 104-84 loss in Game 3 and had 36 points in the first half Monday.

Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 25 points, 17 rebounds and five assists in Game 4. Tyler Herro scored 19 points for Miami and Caleb Martin added 18.

"We're going in the lion's den," Adebayo said. "Everyone knows what's at stake."

Jaquez Jr. didn't play in the fourth quarter of Game 4 because of a hip injury and didn't travel to Boston for Game 5.

"I just felt something, felt something give in the hip, and we'll take it day by day as of now," Jaquez said after Game 4. "It was really just my hip, my right hip. I felt something give in the beginning in the third quarter going up for a rebound. I tried to get back in there, tried to give it everything I had."

Jaquez averaged 11.9 points per game during the regular season, and 12.8 points per game in the four playoff games against the Celtics.

Boston's Derrick White scored a career-high 38 points in Game 4. He was 15 of 26 from the field, and 8 of 15 on 3-point attempts. Jayson Tatum added 20 points and 10 rebounds.

The winner of the Boston-Miami series will meet the Cleveland-Orlando winner in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

"We'll just wrap our minds around getting one game in Boston, and figuring it out from there," Herro said.

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5/1 Game 5 Preview: Heat at Celtics

Taylor Snow

BOSTON – In piecing together a championship-caliber roster behind the scenes, Brad Stevens has earned some shine in the spotlight.

The NBA announced Tuesday that the Celtics’ president of basketball operations has been named the 2023-24 Executive of the Year after building Boston into a league-best 64-win team.

Stevens won the award in a landslide, receiving 16 out of 29 first-place votes. No other executive received more than four such votes. He also earned six second-place votes and three third-place votes for a total of 101 voting points. Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti finished a distant second with 47 voting points.

Stevens is the third Celtics executive to achieve the honor, joining Red Auerbach in 1979-80 and Danny Ainge in 2007-08. &nbsp;&nbsp;

“I am so thankful to work for the Celtics,” Stevens said. “Our ownership group has given us the support and resources to build this team. The players, coaches, front office, and support staff are amazing - superstars in their jobs across the board. This recognition has everything to do with the team and nothing to do with any one individual. Great teams require that everyone in the building is fully committed to each other and moving in one direction.”

The Celtics have been moving in a positive direction ever since Stevens was elevated from head coach to president of basketball operations following the 2020-21 season. During his first year in his new role, he made a few trades and signings that turned into significant long-term pieces, such as the re-acquisition of Al Horford, the signing of undrafted free agent Sam Hauser, and dealing for Derrick White midseason ahead of Boston's 2022 NBA Finals run.

After failing to make it back to the Finals last year, Stevens made several franchise-altering decisions leading into the 2023-24 campaign which helped to shape Boston into the best team in the league while also setting it up for potential long-term success.

The two main moves were trading for Kristaps Porzingis on Draft Night and then dealing for Jrue Holiday at the start of Training Camp.

Both trades required great sacrifice, as the C’s had to give up Marcus Smart to acquire Porzingis and lost both Rob Williams and Malcolm Brogdon in the Holiday deal. But there is no question that both acquisitions were upgrades.

The Porzingis move completely changed the dynamic of Boston’s offense. His scoring versatility as both a low-post threat and a knockdown perimeter shooter took a great deal of pressure off Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum this season, plus, his 7-foot-3 presence has provided the Celtics with elite protection at the rim.

Tatum summed up KP’s value after Game 3 of the first round by claiming he is “the most important guy on our team for what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Holiday’s presence has also been of utmost importance. And his acquisition was just about as shocking as that of Porzingis. Holiday had initially be traded from Milwaukee as part of the Damian Lillard trade, and soon after he arrived in Portland,  Brad Stevens brought him back to the East. The C's had to give up Williams and Brogdon in the process. Still, it was ingenious to acquire a player who had been a key cog for a Milwaukee team that was considered Boston’s biggest Eastern Conference competition.

The move paid off tremendously, as the Celtics went on to win 64 wins, while a reshaped Bucks team finished with 49. Holiday became Boston's most impactful defender, a jack-of-all-trades offensive contributor, and a valuable locker-room presence as a respected teammate and someone with championship experience.

Not only did Stevens acquire two former All-Stars, but he also committed to both of them long-term. Porzingis signed a contract extension shortly after being traded, and Holiday did the same just before the end of the regular season.

Stevens also extended two longer-tenured core players, inking Brown and Payton Pritchard to long-term deals.

Not only did these decisions establish the Celtics as a present championship threat, but they have also set the team up for a bright future. For that, Stevens deserves to bask in the spotlight, even though we know how much he thrives working behind the scenes.

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Stevens’ Remarkable Roster Construction Earns Him Exec of the Year

BOSTON, MA&nbsp;– The NBA announced today that Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens&nbsp;has been named the 2023-24 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year. Stevens is the third recipient in franchise history to win the yearly award, joining Danny Ainge (2007-08) and Red Auerbach (1979-80).“I am so thankful to work for the Celtics,” said Stevens. “Our ownership group has given us the support and resources to build this team. The players, coaches, front office, and support staff are amazing - superstars in their jobs across the board. This recognition has everything to do with the team, and nothing to do with any one individual. Great teams require that everyone in the building is fully committed to each other and moving in one direction. With that in mind, we are onto Game 5!”Stevens served as the Celtics’ head coach for eight seasons before being promoted to the team's President of Basketball Operations on June 2, 2021. Since Stevens joined the front office, the Celtics have reached the NBA Finals, the Eastern Conference Finals, and clinched the No.1 overall seed for the 2024 Playoff run. Boston has amassed the most wins in the NBA with a 172-74 regular season record for a 69.9 winning percentage over the last three years.The Celtics concluded the 2023-24 regular season with a league-best 64-18 overall record, marking the fourth-most wins in franchise history and earning their NBA-record 14th 60-win season. Boston went 37-4 at home, marking the third-most wins on the parquet in a single season in franchise history, and its 90.2 win percentage ranked 12th in the NBA since the 1990-91 season.The 2023-24 Celtics proved one of the most prolific offensive teams the league has seen, boasting the best offensive rating (122.2) in NBA history and knocking down the second-most three-pointers in a single season with 1,351 threes. The Celtics led the league in three-pointers per game (16.5), blocks per game (6.6), and plus/minus (+11.3), and ranked second in three-point percentage (38.8%), rebounds per game (46.3), and points per game (120.6).

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Brad Stevens Named 2023-24 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year

Less than one year after tipping in the winning bucket in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the South Beach Boogeyman returned to Miami to terrorize the Heat once again.

Last time, it had been a single, heart-stopping play that Derrick White delivered at Kaseya Center; this time, he produced a full 48-minute nightmare to lift the Celtics to a 102-88 Game 4 win to give them a 3-1 lead in their first-round series.

White turned in the performance of his life Monday night, pouring in a career-high 38 points on 15-of-26 shooting from the field, including 8-of-15 from 3-point range.

White opened the game with a 16-point first quarter, tying his career high for playoff points in a single frame.

“I think any person that gets a couple going in and you start making some tough ones, you feel like you just can't miss, and that basket seems huge,” he said. “It was a lot of fun.”

White said he could have scored zero points and still would have had fun just by getting the win down in Miami. Being the star of the game was just a bonus.

However, the Celtics need those types of performances out of White because when he’s hot, it takes some of the pressure off guys like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and allows the offense to flow even more freely.

“When he's being aggressive, it just opens everything up,” said Tatum, who logged 20 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists. “Whatever they try and take away for myself, when your teammates are hitting shots and being aggressive and attacking close-outs out and making plays, it makes us very, very hard to guard. You want everybody to be assertive and be aggressive and try to make plays. It just makes us a better team.”

That’s exactly why White tries to bring such assertiveness into each matchup.

“Every game, I have the same mindset of trying to be aggressive, just read what the game is telling you, not force anything, and just do what I need to do,” he said. “Tonight, I got a couple of good looks early and then my team did a great job with just finding me and empowering me to stay aggressive, so a lot of credit goes to those guys.”

Discovering that sense of empowerment took some time, but White has all the confidence in the world now to step up in big games such as these. Not only does he have his teammates to thank for that, but also his head coach.

“It starts with Joe (Mazzulla),” White claimed. “Ever since he took over, he's just given me the most confidence … Our relationship is just getting better and better each day. It’s amazing to play for him and I love it.”

You could see that confidence in every area of his game Monday night from the eight threes he knocked down, to the three blocked shots, to the consecutive dunks he threw down midway through the third quarter.

“I’m just having fun out there,” he said. “Competing at the highest level on the biggest stage, that’s what it’s all about.”

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White’s Career-High Scoring Night Leads C’s to 3-1 Lead in Miami

Marc D'Amico

Derrick White sure does like Miami, doesn’t he?

White was at the core of Boston’s 15-2 run midway through the first quarter of Game 4, a run which propelled the Celtics to another runaway win on the road. He accounted for 11 of the 15 points, including eight in a span of just 57 seconds to jumpstart Boston’s dominant night.

The 15-2 run was initiated by Kristaps Porzingis connecting on two free throws at the 7:26 mark. White then got into the act with his eight-point run before Jaylen Brown added in a free throw and a putback layup. White then ended the run with a 3-pointer at the 3:39 mark to push Boston ahead 29-14.

At that moment, White had already reached 16 points in the quarter. That number matched his postseason career high for points in a quarter. And he and the Celtics were just getting started.

Boston’s lead remained in double-figures for the remainder of the night while White went on to notch a new career high in the scoring column. The Celtics pulled ahead by as many as 28 points before completing the 102-88 win.

Miami’s defensive game plan is to limit Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The problem for the Heat is that they forgot about Derrick White.

White stole Miami’s playoff slogan and was White Hot Monday night while piling up a game-high 38 points. That number stands as not only a new playoff career high, but a new overall career high for the seventh-year guard.

White shot a scorching-hot 15-for-26 from the field, including an 8-for-15 performance from long distance. His eight 3-pointers were just one shy of Miami’s team total of nine.

That’s not the only category where White competed with Miami’s team total. He also blocked three shots to match all of Miami’s players combined in that category.

White rounded out his box score with four boards and three assists during his nearly 41 minutes of action.

"Once you make a couple, the basket looks huge."

- Derrick White after scoring a career-high 38 points during Game 4

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Keys to the Game: Celtics 102, Heat 88

The Boston Celtics focused on playing stingy defense against the Miami Heat to swing the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series in their favor the last time the teams met.

On Monday, look for Boston to keep the same mentality as they meet again in Miami for Game 4 of the best-of-seven series. The top-seeded Celtics carry a 2-1 series edge into the matchup against the eighth-seeded Heat.

"Everybody knows how talented we are," Celtics forward Jayson Tatum said. "Can we be the tougher, harder-playing team?

"When you combine that with our talent level, I think it's going to be hard to beat us. But can we start off every game essentially punching first and not reacting? That's the test for us that we have to get up for every single game."

The Celtics won the series opener 114-94 in Boston, led by 23 points from Tatum and 20 points from Derrick White.

The Heat evened the series at 1-1 with a 111-101 victory thanks in large part to 53.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc (23 of 43). Tyler Herro finished with 24 points and made a half-dozen 3-pointers, and Caleb Martin scored 21 points and made five 3-pointers.

Then came Game 3, when the Celtics locked down on defense and won 104-84.

Herro said he and his teammates believe that they can find their footing on offense.

"Honestly, I think the (3-point) shots are still there," Herro said. "I have to do a better job of creating and making the right decisions when I get into the paint, the same with Bam (Adebayo), and just continue to make the right play like I've said this whole series.

"Guys just have to shoot the ball. They are open and we've just got to let it ride and let it go."

Martin agreed. He said he would aim to be more aggressive in Game 4.

"I think there were some times when I passed up shots," Martin said after scoring five points in 37-plus minutes in Game 3. "I felt like I was trying to get the ball moving a little bit more, being a little bit less aggressive in letting it go. So that's on me. I can't be as passive. I've got to let the ball go."

Tatum is averaging 24.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists in the series' first three games to lead the Celtics. Jaylen Brown ranks second with 24 points to go along with eight rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest, and White is averaging 16.3 points.

Miami is led by Adebayo with 21.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game to start the playoffs. Herro is averaging 16.7 points with 6.7 assists, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. is averaging 14 points.

The Celtics are fully healthy with no one listed on their injury report.

The Heat remain without key players Jimmy Butler (right knee), Terry Rozier (neck) and Josh Richardson (shoulder). Delon Wright, who missed Game 3 because of personal reasons, is expected to be back and available to play.

Brown said he and his teammates could not take the Heat lightly despite their injuries.

"Respecting those guys' capability," Brown said. "They are NBA players and they can make shots on any given night so (we are) treating them accordingly, closing out, just making them uncomfortable."

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4/29 Game 4 Preview: Celtics at Heat

The Celtics knew exactly what they needed to do to bounce back from Wednesday night’s Game 2 loss to the Heat, and that was to up their defensive intensity as the first-round series shifted down to Miami.

It didn’t take long for C's to right the ship on South Beach.

Boston held the Heat to just 12 points in the first quarter of Game 3 Saturday night, setting the tone for a 104-84 win while taking a 2-1 series lead.

It marked Boston’s best defensive effort – regular season or postseason – in nearly two full years. It hadn’t given up fewer than 85 points since its 93-80 Game 5 win over the Heat in the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals.

Joe Mazzulla described the early portion of Game 3 as a “rock fight,” as the two teams combined for just 15 points in the opening six minutes. Boston accounted for 80 percent of those points, grabbing a 12-3 lead out of the gate.

Jaylen Brown noted, “We put an emphasis on defense, trying to make them uncomfortable a little bit. They had a slow start, we had a good start on defense, and I think that opened up the game.”

Boston’s defensive effort sure opened things up for its offense, as it came alive for a 42-point second quarter. Meanwhile, its defense remained steadfast, taking a 63-39 lead into the break.

“It was just more about our attention to detail on both ends of the floor, mainly on the defensive end," said Jayson Tatum. "Just start the game and not let them be comfortable – regardless if they hit shots tonight, just try to make them work for everything that they get.”

Miami’s shot-making – particularly from 3-point land – was the main issue in Game 2. It made a franchise playoff-record 23 3-pointers Wednesday night at a 53.5 percent clip. On Saturday night, that number plummetted to nine makes at a 32.1 percent clip, similar to its 12 makes at a 32.4 percent clip in Game 1.

For a Celtics team that led the East in 3-point defense during the regular season, they felt much more like themselves on that end of the floor.

“Teams can come out and hit a plethora of shots,” said Brown, “they had a record-breaking night the other day, but we don't panic. When we watched the film, we broke it down seeing where we could make some improvements if we came out we executed, and I thought that's what we did tonight.”

On the offensive end, the Celtics put forth another balanced attack, just like they did in Game 1. Brown and Tatum tied for the game lead with 22 points. Kristaps Porzingis bounced back from a tough Game 2 with 18 points on 55.5 percent shooting. And Derrick White chipped in with 16 points.

As a team, the Celtics were deadly from inside the arc, where they shot 62.2 percent.

Overall, it was the type of bounce-back effort that their head coach expected.

“I don’t expect them to play perfect and I don’t expect a series to be easy or to go a certain way,” Mazzulla said. “But I trust them and I know they want to win, and I know they’ll do whatever it takes, and I trust their preparation, and I trust who they are.”

His players have that same trust in themselves, and they believe that through their preparation, they are just getting started in these playoffs.

Brown pointed out how the team needed a little time to regain its rhythm after playing just two games in the previous 12 days, and he is looking forward to playing every other day for the remainder of this series.

“I feel like we’re still getting it going,” he said. “I think we’ve still got another gear to kick into, so I’m looking forward to (Game 4) Monday.”

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C's Tighten Up Defense, Hold Heat to 84 Points in Game 3 Win

Boston dominated Game 3 from start to finish, all while delivering a message to the Heat that their shocking Game 2 victory had no chance of being repeated Saturday night.

The Celtics scored the first points of the night off a 3-pointer from Kristaps Porzingis and never looked back from there. They eventually pulled ahead by as many as 29 points, all while never trailing for a single second.

Bam Adebayo did answer Porzingis’ 3-pointer with a conventional three-point play of his own to knot things up at 3-3. However, the Celtics were off and running from there.

Boston scored the game’s next nine points to pull ahead 12-3 and to take early control of the game. All nine of those points were scored by the dynamic duo of Cookies & Cream.

Cream, AKA Porzingis, jumpstarted the run with five straight points, the first two coming off an alley-oop slam from Jrue Holiday, and the next three arriving from beyond the arc off a dish from Jayson Tatum. Cookies, AKA Jaylen Brown, then got into the mix with a driving layup and a tip-in off a missed 3-pointer from Derrick White.

While Porzingis and Brown were scoring nine straight, Boston’s defense was putting the clamps down on Miami’s offense at the other end of the floor. The Celtics forced Miami into nine consecutive misses and a turnover following Adebayo’s early bucket.

The game might as well have ended there, with the Celtics leading 12-3 at the 6:20 mark. All Boston did was pull away from there before coasting into the winner’s circle to take a 2-1 series lead.

The Jays tied each other for Game 3’s top scoring mark, so how do we break the tie? On this night, it’s by efficiency and defensive numbers, so Jaylen Brown gets the nod.

Brown tied Jayson Tatum for the game’s top scoring mark with 22 points. He scored those points on 11-for-20 shooting from the field, good for a 55 percent conversion rate. That field goal percentage was the highest in the game among the seven players who attempted at least 10 shots. Brown also added in three assists at the offensive end, while committing just one turnover.

The star wing put in work at the defensive end, too. He grabbed six defensive boards and eight rebounds overall to finish second on the team in that category, trailing only Tatum’s 11 total rebounds. Brown led the game in steals with two and tied Miami’s team total with that number. He also was one of four Celtics to block a shot during the game, as he swatted away one shot.

"We had two days off, so any days off after a loss in the Playoffs is tough. So we were just ready to come out here and play. We played right poise on both ends of the floor, and we gotta repeat it on Monday."