Boston Celtics
Live Blog EndedMar 14, 2025

Celtics-Heat recap: Holiday, White step up in C's bounce-back win

Jrue Holiday dropped a season-high 25 points in the Celtics' 103-91 victory.

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Abby Chin caught up with Jrue Holiday after the Celtics’ 103-91 win against the Miami Heat, and he talks through what it took to drop a season-high 25 points.

What to Know

  • Celtics (48-19) have won six consecutive regular-season matchups against Heat (29-37).
  • Miami has lost six straight games.
  • Jrue Holiday dropped a season-high 25 points (10-15 FG).
  • Derrick White (18 points) made three clutch fourth-quarter 3-pointers.
  • Boston will visit Brooklyn for second night of back-to-back Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.

The Boston Celtics bounced back with a 103-91 road win over the Miami Heat on Friday night.

Jayson Tatum dropped a game-high 28 points, but Jrue Holiday and Derrick White were the keys to Boston's sixth consecutive win against Miami. Holiday notched a season-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting, and White (18 points) came through with three clutch 3-pointers to help the C's pull away in the fourth quarter. "The Stock Exchange" stepped up with Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis sidelined.

Boston returns to action Saturday night in Brooklyn. Check out our live blog below for a full recap of Friday's game:

MAR 149:16 PM EDT

FINAL: Celtics 103, Heat 91

Jrue HolidaySam Navarro-Imagn Images
Jrue Holiday dropped a season-high 25 points (10-15 FG) in the Celtics' win over the Heat.

The Boston Celtics continued their recent dominance against the Miami Heat with a road win over their Eastern Conference rival Friday night.

They took control of an otherwise close game in the fourth quarter, where they outscored the Heat 25-14 en route to a 103-91 victory. Derrick White (18 points) made up for his 0-for-6 start from 3-point range with three clutch 3s in the final frame.

Jrue Holiday stepped up with Jaylen Brown (right knee posterior impingement) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness) sidelined. The C's guard tallied a season-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting (5-8 3-PT).

Jayson Tatum found his groove in the second half and finished with a game-high 28 points (8-21 FG, 5-12 3-PT). He also notched five assists, four rebounds, and a steal.

MAR 1410:30 PM EDT

Instant reaction to the Celtics' 103-91 win

Eddie House and our Celtics Postgame Live crew react to Boston's road win over Miami:

MAR 1410:26 PM EDT

Mazzulla praises ‘overlooked' Holiday after big night vs. Heat

Mazzulla praises ‘overlooked' Holiday after big night vs. Heat

Joe Mazzulla says what Jrue Holiday does for the Celtics gets overlooked after he dropped a season-high 25 points against the Miami Heat.

Jrue Holiday may not be the first, second, third, or even fourth player who comes to mind when thinking about the Boston Celtics' star-studded roster. Still, the All-Defensive guard is a crucial part of the C's championship formula.

Holiday provided a firm reminder of that in Friday's 103-91 victory over the Miami Heat, battling through his right-hand mallet finger injury to deliver a season-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting. He also contributed four rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal in a stellar two-way performance.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla heaped praise on Holiday after the win. When asked about the 34-year-old veteran's impact being "kind of" overlooked, Mazzulla issued a correction.

"It's not 'kind of.' It is overlooked," Mazzulla said. "But it's overlooked because that's just the type of person that he is, and it's also just the type of teammate that he is, that he'll do whatever it takes to win for his team.

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MAR 149:47 PM EDT

EXCLUSIVE: Holiday on having big night vs. Heat despite finger injury

Jrue Holiday caught up with NBC Sports Boston's Abby Chin to discuss scoring a season-high 25 points despite his right hand mallet finger injury:

Jrue Holiday talks through posting season-high 25 points while dealing with mallet finger
Abby Chin caught up with Jrue Holiday after the Celtics' 103-91 win against the Miami Heat, and he talks through what it took to drop a season-high 25 points.
MAR 149:07 PM EDT

D-White carrying C's in fourth

Score: 93-86 Celtics, 3:53 left in fourth quarter

Derrick White started 0-for-6 from 3-point range, but he has come through in the clutch yet again for the C's with all three of his 3s coming in the fourth quarter. With the offense struggling mightily in the frame, White has almost single-handedly preserved Boston's lead with four minutes remaining.

MAR 148:55 PM EDT

C's starting to take control

Score: 86-79 Celtics, 9:45 left in fourth quarter

The Celtics are off to a hot start here in the fourth. They've jumped out to a seven-point lead with a pair of Derrick White 3-pointers and a Luke Kornet layup, assisted by White.

MAR 148:47 PM EDT

End of third quarter

Score: 78-77 Celtics

The C's have snapped out of their funk at the perfect time as they'll take a one-point lead into the final frame.

Jayson Tatum is a big reason for the turnaround. The Celtics star, who started just 3-of-12 from the floor, is up to 23 points on 7-of-18 shooting (4-10 3-PT).

Jrue Holiday has stepped up with Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis sidelined. The C's guard has a season-high 25 points with 12 minutes still left to play.

MAR 148:28 PM EDT

Celtics have gone ice-cold

Score: 58-54 Heat, 9:41 left in third quarter

The C's haven't been able to buy a bucket since their strong start to the game. They've remained ice-cold to start the third quarter, allowing the Heat to take a four-point lead.

Other than Jrue Holiday (19 points), the Celtics offense has been abysmal. Jayson Tatum has 13 points but is just 3-of-12 from the floor. Boston is shooting 37.5 percent.

MAR 148:10 PM EDT

Halftime

Score: 50-50

The Heat have tied it at the half after a rocky start to the game. They trailed by 14 points in the first quarter but outscored the C's 27-20 in the second quarter. Boston's offense went ice-cold over the final few minutes of the half.

Jrue Holiday was a bright spot with a game-high 16 points (4-6 3-PT). Jayson Tatum added 12 points, and Payton Pritchard chipped in eight off the bench.

Andrew Wiggins has paced the Heat with 14 points (6-10 FG). Tyler Herro has 12 points and Davion Mitchell notched nine.

The Celtics have shot just 37.8 percent from the floor. Threes have kept them in it (10-28) as the Heat are shooting 52.6 percent from the field (5-16 from 3).

MAR 147:55 PM EDT

Red-hot Holiday

Score: 43-39 Celtics, 4:19 left in second quarter

The Heat briefly pulled ahead of the C''s before Jrue Holiday caught fire. Holiday, who has a game-high 16 points, made back-to-back 3-pointers to put Boston back ahead and prompt a Miami timeout.

Holiday's season-high is 23 points.

MAR 147:50 PM EDT

Heat chipping away

Score: 37-34 Celtics, 6:28 left in second quarter

The Celtics' 14-point lead has been cut to three here in the second quarter. The Heat, led by Andrew Wiggins (10 points), have snapped out of their early funk.

Boston hasn't shot well since the start of the game. It's shooting just 43.8 percent from the floor (7-for-20, 35 percent from 3) so far.

Jrue Holiday still leads the C's with 10 points. Payton Pritchard has eight off the bench.

MAR 147:37 PM EDT

End of first quarter

Score: 30-23 Celtics

The Celtics take a seven-point lead into the second quarter after shooting 11-of-21 (52.4 percent) from the floor, including 6-13 (46.2 percent) from 3-point range over the first 12 minutes.

Jrue Holiday and Jayson Tatum lead the C's with 10 and seven points, respectively. Payton Pritchard added five off the bench.

The Heat found their groove offensively toward the end of the frame after a rough start. Bam Adebayo leads the group with seven points. Tyler Herro has five.

MAR 147:33 PM EDT

Holiday starting strong

Score: 27-18 Celtics, 1:35 left in first quarter

Jrue Holiday leads all scorers with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting (2-3 3-PT) thus far.

Payton Pritchard (5 points) added a spark off the C's bench with a couple of tough shots, including this beauty:

MAR 147:18 PM EDT

Perfect start from 3 for C's

Score: 12-4 Celtics, 9:31 left in first quarter

The Celtics have attempted four shots -- all 3-pointers -- and made all of them. Jrue Holiday has a pair of 3s, and Al Horford and Jayson Tatum both chipped in with one before the Heat timeout.

MAR 146:57 PM EDT

Starting lineups

Celtics: Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Luke Kornet

Heat: Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Andrew Wiggins, Jaime Jacquez Jr., Bam Adebayo

MAR 145:56 PM EDT

Injury updates

Jaylen Brown (right knee posterior impingement) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness) have been ruled out for the Celtics.

Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Al Horford are available after being listed on the injury report.

MAR 149:30 AM EDT

How Celtics can clinch playoff spot vs. Heat

How Celtics can clinch playoff spot vs. Heat

Al Horford reacts to the Celtics’ 118-112 loss to the Thunder and explains why it was a good experience for the team to face such a physical opponent.

The NBA playoffs are still a full month away, but the Boston Celtics are on the verge of punching their official postseason ticket.

The defending champions can lock in a top-six seed in the Eastern Conference Friday night. They would need to beat the Heat in Miami and get some help from the Los Angeles Clippers in Atlanta.

Celtics secure top-six seed in East if:

The Celtics (47-19) sit 15 games ahead of the Hawks (32-34), who are currently at the top of the play-in bracket as the No. 7 seed in the East.

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MAR 1312:52 PM EDT

Seven takeaways from Celtics' entertaining seven-game homestand

Seven takeaways from Celtics' entertaining seven-game homestand

Jaylen Brown says he and the Celtics didn’t do enough to match the Thunder’s physicality in the Celtics’ loss to them.

Well, that was (mostly) fun.

The most intriguing stretch of the Boston Celtics’ 2024-25 regular-season schedule is now in the rearview mirror. A two-week, seven-game homestand featured glitzy matchups and far more good than bad for the green team, but was nevertheless bookended by frustrating losses to arguably the two biggest threats in Boston’s quest to repeat as champions.

So, what did we learn in this stretch? What should the Celtics prioritize over the remaining 16-game slog to the playoffs?

Here are seven thoughts from the homestead:

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