The Boston Celtics may not return to South Florida for several months, which is fantastic news for the Miami Heat.

The bad news for the Heat is that as well.

With Derrick White scoring a career-high 38 points on Monday night to lead the top-seeded Celtics past the eighth-seeded Heat 102-88 and grab a 3-1 lead in their opening-round NBA playoff series, Boston now has complete control of this Eastern Conference series.

White, who shot 8 of 15 from 3-point range and 15 of 26 from the field, said, “I made a couple shots early.” That is always beneficial. After you produce a few, the basket appears enormous.

The Celtics triumphed at Miami for the sixth time in a row, raising their record to 14-3 in their previous 17 visits to the Heat’s arena. Kristaps Porzingis went down in the first half due to what the team said was a right calf injury, thus it was an expensive victory. Frequently worn as a precaution, he exited the arena wearing a walking boot.

Following the game, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla stated he had not received an update on Porzingis’ health.

“I was blind to what was happening,” Mazzulla claimed.

For the Celtics, who also had 17 points and 11 from Jrue Holiday, Jayson Tatum contributed 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Tatum stated, “We had to remain determined and, in a sense, act desperate.”

With Lionel Messi among the sellout crowd, Miami’s Bam Adebayo concluded with 25 points, 17 rebounds, and five assists. However, the team was missing injured players Jimmy Butler (knee) and Terry Rozier (neck). In Game 3, the Heat scored just 84 points, and in Game 4, they once more had offensive difficulties.

The eighth-seeded Heat were led by Caleb Martin with 18 points and Tyler Herro with 19. Due to calf discomfort, Miami lost rookie starting Jaime Jaquez Jr. in the second half; he will be assessed on Tuesday.

Erik Spoelstra, the coach of the Heat, remarked, “Offensively, we struggled again.” “We got a few good shots early on, but we couldn’t convert those, and Derrick White was obviously excellent today. He was simply excellent and quite efficient.

When the Celtics host Game 5 on Wednesday, they can move to the second round. In the East semifinals, the winners of Boston vs. Miami and Cleveland vs. Orlando will face off; the Cavaliers vs. Magic series won’t conclude until at least Friday.

Adebayo declared, “We’re going into the lion’s den.” “Everyone is aware of the stakes. 3-1 is the score.

However, after getting wounded late in the first half, Porzingis lifted his jersey over his face in frustration, raising a concern for the Celtics’ injuries.

Al Horford, the center for the Boston Celtics who took Porzingis’ spot after halftime, expressed his worry. Just worried about it. That worries me a lot. He’s not sure what’s going to happen, but he seems upbeat. All I can hope for is that it’s nothing major and that he can respond to us right away.

There was more drama with 5:04 remaining, as Tatum attempted a 3-point shot just after a foul was called. Tatum rolled his left ankle after Adebayo entered his landing zone while defending the dead-ball play. Adebayo was given a flagrant-1 by the referees, and Horford was given a technical for reacting.

Tatum continued to play.

“He’s probably alright,” Mazzulla remarked.

Adebayo was unwilling to talk about the justification he received for why his actions were flagrantly improper. He declared, “We’re just going to move on from that.”

History indicates that this series is almost finished, which is wonderful news for Boston.

In best-of-seven series, this is the 29th time a Boston club has taken a 3-1 lead. The Heat played the first round series versus Miami in 2010 (the final games the Heat played before enticing LeBron James and Chris Bosh to South Florida and building a superteam around Dwyane Wade), and the Celtics won all 28 of the prior series, including seven times in the NBA Finals.

In this one, Miami simply couldn’t keep up. In the first quarter, White scored 16 points as the Celtics took a 34–24 advantage. And the offense was unable to fill any holes, regardless of the Heat’s defensive strategies.

Think about this: the Heat needed roughly 23 minutes, or the entirety of the first half, to reach the 34-point threshold, while the Celtics had 34 points after 12 minutes. Miami had only 59 points after three quarters, which was the same as the season low they had recorded at Boston in Game 1 of this series.

“I have a gut feeling that there is a game there,” Spoelstra remarked. “All it needs is for the ball to go in a few more times before it ignites.”