Up three heading into the fourth quarter Friday night, the Celtics showed a hype video starring Isaiah Thomas on the TD Garden Jumbotron.
Thomas, whose late-game exploits during his brief but memorable Boston tenure earned him the nickname “The King in the Fourth,” was back in town for the Celtics’ celebration of one of his greatest games: 52 points, including 29 in the final quarter, in a Dec. 30, 2016 win over the Miami Heat.
With Thomas watching from a courtside seat alongside team owner Bill Chisholm, Boston’s shooters did the former fan favorite proud.
The Celtics buried the undermanned Heat beneath an avalanche of 3-pointers, going 9-for-15 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter to turn a tight game into a 129-116 victory.
Sam Hauser provided four of those nine threes, including back-to-back makes to open the quarter. Derrick White and Jaylen Brown buried two apiece, and Anfernee Simons hit one.
Overall, the Celtics shot 48.8% from 3-point range in the win, including highly efficient efforts from White (9-for-14, 30 points) and Hauser (5-for-6, 15 points). White also had six assists, five rebounds, four blocks and was a plus-27 in one of his best games of the season to date.
Brown scored 24 of his 30 points after halftime, going 9-for-18 from the field, 2-for-4 from three and 10-for-11 from the foul line.
The Celtics snapped a two-game win streak and improved to 16-12. Miami fell to 15-13.
The Heat, who won in Brooklyn the previous night to snap a five-game losing streak, were playing without five rotation players, including starters Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell. The Celtics were at full strength outside of rehabbing superstar Jayson Tatum, with Hauser returning after leaving Monday’s loss to Detroit with an ankle sprain.
The Celtics led 30-29 after the first quarter despite attempting nine fewer field goals than Miami.
Josh Minott sparked a 7-0 Boston run when he, after turning the ball over at the other end, stole a Heat pass and converted a fast-break layup. A minute later, Minott snatched the ball away from Jaime Jacquez Jr. and flipped a pass to White as he was sailing out of bounds. White dished to a trailing Hugo Gonzalez, who posterized Jacquez with a two-handed dunk.
> What a play 👏👏👏 [pic.twitter.com/njFakUSUx1](https://t.co/njFakUSUx1)
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> — Boston Celtics (@celtics) [December 20, 2025](https://twitter.com/celtics/status/2002176255358079173?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
The Heat continued to control the glass in the second quarter, helping them build an eight-point lead. But Boston rallied to tie the game at 58-58 entering halftime — despite allowing Miami to grab 11 offensive rebounds and hold a 17-shot edge in field-goal attempts.
With Brown largely quiet in the first half, White spearheaded the Celtics’ scoring with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting before the break, plus three blocks at the other end. He’s the only Celtics player in the play-by-play era (since 1996-97) to make five 3-pointers and block three shots in a first half, which he’s now done twice.
Officiating was a point of contention for Boston in the first half. Brown picked up a technical foul for arguing a first-quarter whistle that went against Minott, and head coach Joe Mazzulla accosted referee Jacyn Goble over what he viewed as uncalled contact on a Gonzalez layup. Gonzalez also protested the no-call, arguing that fellow rookie Kasparas Jakucionis swatted his arm on the transition bucket.
Pritchard also had words with a member of Zach Zarba’s officiating crew after he was hip-checked to the parquet while fighting for a loose ball just before halftime.
The third quarter followed a similar script to the second: Miami building a seven-point advantage, and Boston responding. Anfernee Simons scored two go-ahead baskets in the period, hitting a trailer 3-pointer off a Pritchard feed and a running layup after a Brown steal. White also knocked down two more threes.
After being held to six points before halftime, Brown poured in 15 in the third, including a layup in traffic that put Boston up 92-89 heading into the fourth.
Celtics center Neemias Queta took two hard falls beneath the Heat basket but remained in the game.