4 takeaways as Celtics beat Heat as trade addition helps spark incredible comeback

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4 takeaways as Celtics beat Heat as trade addition helps spark incredible comeback

Brian Robb · MassLive

Sat, Feb 7, 2026 ·

4 min read

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The Celtics erased a 22-point deficit on Friday night to secure their fifth straight win against the Miami Heat with a 98-96 victory at TD Garden. It was the Celtics’ biggest comeback win of the season.

Boston had a miserable first half, shooting just 29.8 percent from the field and five percent from 3-point range with no one cracking double figures beyond Jaylen Brown . However, the hosts fought back in the second half behind new reserve Payton Pritchard and trade addition Nikola Vucevic . The duo helped Boston put together a 25-7 run to close the third quarter, creating a nip-and-tuck affair for the entire fourth quarter.

The Heat had a chance to tie the game with eight seconds remaining but the Celtics were able to corral the rebound after a 3-point miss by Davion Mitchell with 0.7 seconds remaining to clinch the victory.

Brown led the way for the Celtics with 29 points while Pritchard scored 24 points off the bench, his third straight game hitting that mark as a reserve. Nikola Vucevic also added a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds in his Boston debut. Andrew Wiggins had a team-high 26 points in the loss for the Heat.

The Celtics have now won all three games against Miami in the season series and now take control of the No. 2 seed in the East after the Knicks loss to the Pistons.

Here are four takeaways from the Celtics’ win over the Heat on Friday night:

Celtics overcome worst 3-point shooting half of the season:The Celtics offense has thrived with shooters all over the floor but Boston’s reliance on the jump shot backfired early in this one. The team shot paltry five percent in the first half, missing 19 of their 20 3-point attempts against a switching Heat defense. Boston’s starting five were the worst offenders as they combined to go 0-of-14 from downtown with Baylor Scheierman being the only Celtic to knock down an attempt before intermission. The brutal display led to Boston shooting just 29.8 percent in the first half as they dug themselves a 21-point hole at halftime.

Nikola Vucevic has a promising debut:The former Bull center came off the bench to a standing ovation from the TD Garden crowd on Friday night. He gave the Celtics useful size in the interior all night long, posting a double-double with some useful high-low action with Celtics guards against Heat switches. Joe Mazzulla also elected to play him alongside Neemias Queta in some stints but Boston’s offense was at its best with the big man as the lone big on the floor. He ended up finishing with 11 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists in 28 minutes.

Payton Pritchard looks right at home coming off the bench:The point guard entered Friday’s game having played two straight stellar games off the bench in wins over Houston and Dallas since Joe Mazzulla opted to pull him out of the starting five. Pritchard continued the momentum on Friday night, shaking off a poor first half to lead the Celtics back into the game with a 25-7 run to close out the third quarter. Pritchard has now scored 20-plus points off the bench in three straight games, making his transition back to the bench look seamless after the Anfernee Simons trade necessitated the switch.

An interesting frontcourt situation to watch:Vucevic quickly showed himself to be a terrific weapon out of the gate in his debut with Boston’s offense looking at its best with him on the floor. His ability to take advantage of smaller defenders down low and find the open man with his pass earned him more playing time than Neemias Queta and Luka Garza despite coming off the bench. Mazzulla ended up starting double bigs with Garza and Queta but abandoned the look fairly quickly in both halves. The Celtics will probably chose their lineups carefully based on matchups but it would not be a surprise to see Vucevic emerge as Mazzulla’s favorite option at center quickly.

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