Celtics-Heat notebook: Al Horford revealed who changed the game, plus what propelled Jayson Tatum to take over

MIAMI — The Celtics extended their road win streak to six games with a 103-85 defeat of the Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat. With the victory, they’ve won six of their last seven games, and have a 38-16 record (just four games worse than their record at this point last year).

They started the game slow, trailing by 11 points early in the first quarter, but came out swinging in the second and third quarters largely thanks to the strong play of Jayson Tatum (33 points, 8 rebounds).

But this one was a complete team effort, with all five starters scoring in double-figures: Al Horford (16 points, 10 rebounds), Kristaps Porzingis (17 points, 9 rebounds), Derrick White (13 points, 7 assists), Sam Hauser (15 points).

Here’s what stood out from on-the-ground in Miami.

Jayson Tatum goes berserk in the second half after a bad close to the first

Jayson Tatum had a rough first half — he shot just 3-10 from the field and uncharacteristically finished with a team-worst +/- of -7. His performance was capped by what he later described as an “ill-advised three” and some lackluster transition defense that allowed Bam Adebayo to bank in a three at the halftime buzzer.

Joe Mazzulla was visibly exasperated at the play and flung his arms in frustration. Postgame, he explained just how much he values strong closes to the quarter.

“That stuff can cost you more than what happens in the fourth quarter, but when you win, no one wants to talk about it… we got away with it today,” Mazzulla said.

The message at halftime was clear.

“He wasn’t happy with us,” said Al Horford.

Tatum took the challenge to heart.

“A lot of that was on me,” he said. “I didn’t have the same imprint in the game I normally do in the first half. It was time for me to wake up.”

So, the Celtics’ statistical leader in just about every category came out of the half on a mission. He exploded for 20 points on 8-11 shooting in the third period, helping the Celtics’ build a 22-point third-quarter lead.

It’s Tatum’s second consecutive game taking over in the third quarter; on Saturday, he scored 19 of his 40 points in a game-sealing third against the Knicks.

But for Mazzulla, the scoring is secondary to his overall play.

“He’s not just being defined by scoring,” Mazzulla said. “He’s defending at a high level, which is really important for us. He has to rebound. He has to play defense for us to be great. He’s doing that… We just need him to continue to play on both ends of the floor.”

Payton Pritchard hugely impacts the Celtics despite limited scoring

In December, Pritchard averaged 12.3 shot attempts per game, while in January, with Kristaps Porzingis back in the lineup, that number was slashed to 8.1 attempts per night.

Entering the Celtics-Heat matchup, Payton Pritchard had just scored 20+ points in back-to-back games for the first time since December.

But, at shootaround Monday, he said he wasn’t too worried about his scoring when asked about the fluctuating shot attempts.

“The blessing of our team is we have so much talent,” Pritchard said. “There’s gonna be times where you just don’t see as many shots, and as long as we’re winning, that’s all that matters.”

“I’m gonna have peaks, and then there should be times I don’t score as much, but hopefully, I’m impacting the game by rebounding and other things,” he added. “I try to hang my hat on that. Everybody knows I’m capable of scoring.”

Just a few hours later, Pritchard perfectly exemplified how much he’s increasingly impacting the game even when shots aren’t falling. Though he made just 2 of 9 field goal attempts, he finished the night with 10 rebounds and 8 assists, both team-highs.

Horford credited the 6’1 guard for turning the game around when he checked in five minutes into the first quarter.

“Payton came in and just changed the game with his pace, how he was finding people,” Horford said. “That was kind of contagious. Once he started doing that, it got all of us going.”

Al Horford relishes the road Celtics fans

Kaseya Center, like most NBA arenas, was filled with Celtics fans. Some reside in South Florida, while others made the trip to see their favorite team in action.

And pregame, Celtics players took the time to sign autographs for fans, as they typically do.

The arena increasingly sounded like a home arena as the Celtics’ lead mounted in the second half. After the final buzzer sounded, Horford locked eyes with many of the Celtics fans who inundated the Kaseya Center and pumped his fist in the direction of a sea of green.

“It’s a privilege when you’re a Celtic and when you go to an opposing arena and you have so many Celtics fans…and that’s how it usually is,” Horford said.

So, the 38-year-old veteran wanted to let the fans know how much he appreciated the support.

“For me, it was just taking a moment to acknowledge them and have that connection,” he said.

Horford gave fans lots to cheer for on Monday; he tallied 16 points and 10 rebounds in the win for his third double-double of the season. He hit 4 of 8 three-pointer attempts, stepping up considerably with Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday out of the lineup.

Happy (third) Celtics anniversary to Derrick White!

Derrick White was traded to the Celtics from the Spurs three years ago Monday, and upon reflecting on the trade Monday morning, White acknowledged that he wasn’t happy when he first learned he was being sent out of San Antonio.

“I was pretty upset when I was traded, but looking back, it was probably the best thing that happened to me,” White said.

It might just be one of the best things to have happened to the Celtics, too.

Since the trade took place on Feb. 10, 2022, White has the third-highest +/- in the NBA at +1608. He’s been named to the All-Defense team twice — and was a critical part of the 2024 championship.

This season, White is averaging 16.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.1 blocks.

“Derrick’s just a tremendous player. He does everything really well,” Pritchard said. “Doesn’t really have a weakness. Very good person — fun person to be around. So, as far as the locker room goes, he helps that aspect.”

Mazzulla, who was an assistant coach on the Celtics’ defensive team when the trade was made, recalled how the coaching staff immediately looked at how he could elevate their defensive: “That was the first thing we watched… where he was going to make an impact, and how we were going to use his versatility.”

“He’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached,” said the 34-year-old head coach.

Sam Hauser is (physically) feeling better and finding his groove

Hauser hit 5 of 8 three-pointers en route to his third highest-scoring game of the season — 4 of those came in a massive second quarter that helped the Celtics build some separation.

“When you see the first one going in, sometimes the rim looks a little bit bigger after that,” he said postgame.

Hauser was limited by a lower back injury earlier in the season, and it is something he still appears to be tending to on the sidelines.

But, he attributes his improved play of late to “feeling better overall, in general, in terms of my body.”

A fun fact about Hauser is that he’s never shot below 40% in a single season — not in high school, not in college, not in the G-League, and not in the NBA. For a brief moment, Hauser’s remarkable shooting efficiency looked to be at risk, as he shot 35% from three in November. But, after Monday’s performance, Hauser is back up to shooting 39.7% from three on the season, thanks to three consecutive months of shooting above 42%.

We can crunch the numbers, but Hauser’s made clear on numerous occasions he’s not overly scrutinizing them.

“You’re not going to be able to shoot 40% each month, each week, each day,” Hauser said. “So it’s, just sticking to the process.”

Injury housekeeping: Holiday misses another game, Heat acquisitions debut

The Heat’s new players — Kyle Anderson, Davion Mitchell, and Andrew Wiggins — all made their Miami debuts, but combined to shoot just 5-25 from the field. Meanwhile, Heat All-Star Tyler Herro missed the game with a stomach illness.

On the Celtics’ side, Jrue Holiday missed his third consecutive game with a right shoulder and Jaylen Brown sat out with right knee tendinopathy. Torrey Craig, the Celtics’ newest addition, is still nursing an ankle strain. All three players were on the bench for most of the night and actively cheering on the Celtics.

Pregame, Brown went through his signature handshake with each of his Celtics teammates.

NBA All-Star break looming

The Celtics have one more game before the All-Star break — against the new-look Spurs at home on Wednesday. Then, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will be off to San Antonio, while the rest of the team gets a break.

Even the Celtics’ most competitive players are looking forward to the break.

“I love playing basketball, but I do like a break,” Pritchard said. “It’ll be nice, on the beach, chilling, being with friends and family. So, I’ll take it in. I am a normal kid at the end of the day… go and relax, do normal things, have a good meal, maybe have a drink.”

Pritchard also said the NBA reached out to him about the Three-Point Contest, but that he ultimately declined.