The Boston Celtics have won five games in a row, and their defense has been the reason why.
For the first time since 2018, the Celtics have held their opponents to 100 points or less in five straight contests, all wins.
Boston’s most recent victory was particularly striking, as the Celts came back from a 22-point deficit to vanquish the gritty Miami Heat at TD Garden on Friday night.
It was a weird game for Boston, which had only four players in double-figures on the night, including Nikola Vucevic in his Celtics debut, finishing with 11 points, 12 rebounds four assists, and two steals.
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The Celtics suffered through a dreadful first quarter offensively, trailing 29-15 at the conclusion of the period. The Heat were hitting everything and applying championship-level pressure defensively.
Boston kept fighting, however, and its defense fueled an explosive 36-15 third quarter in the Celtics’ favor that completely shifted the momentum.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla only employed four bench players — Vucevic, Payton Pritchard, Hugo Gonzalez, and Baylor Scheierman, with Pritchard ending up with the second-most minutes (36) for the team on the night behind Derrick White’s 41.
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Up next, Boston will take on the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden.
