Jayson Tatum contended with Bam Adebayo and the Heat without the help of fellow Celtics stars Jaylen Brown (knee) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness).
Jayson Tatum contended with Bam Adebayo and the Heat without the help of fellow Celtics stars Jaylen Brown (knee) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness).Marta Lavandier/Associated Press
MIAMI — For three quarters Friday night, Derrick White was unable to do much of anything to spark the Celtics’ offense. He missed all six of his 3-pointers and struggled to find a rhythm.
But White has improbably emerged as one of the NBA’s elite fourth-quarter offensive players this season. With the score tied early in the fourth quarter he drilled two 3-pointers and found Luke Kornet for a dunk, giving the Celtics the spark they needed to secure a 103-91 win over the Heat.
Miami was held to just 14 points in the final period.
White scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. Jayson Tatum had 28 points to lead the Celtics and Jrue Holiday, who is still playing with a small splint on his injured right pinky, poured in a season-high 25 points and provided an essential lift with Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Jaylen Brown (knee) both out.
Holiday, who entered Friday just 4 for 20 from the 3-point line over his last four games and had struggled a bit since his return, was Boston’s primary source of offense in the opening half. He drained a pair of 3-pointers during Boston’s 5 for 5 start from the field that staked it to an early 14-4 lead.
Later in the quarter, Payton Pritchard provided a glimpse of his diverse offensive arsenal on consecutive possessions. He hit a deep 3-pointer from the right arc before withstanding some relentless defensive pressure from Davion Mitchell and shimmying past him for a left-handed layup, drawing some gasps from the crowd.
The shot gave Boston a 25-11 lead, its largest of the half. But it began to disappear quickly.
With Tatum on the bench, the Celtics mustered just six points over the first six minutes of the second quarter. And with 5:35 left a dunk by Miami’s Pelle Larsson gave the Heat a 39-37 advantage, its first since 2-0.
Holiday helped the Celtics bounce back during a 30-second stretch in which he connected on a pair of 3-pointers that followed offensive rebounds, an area of success for the Celtics recently. Holiday had 16 first-half points.
The teams went to halftime tied at 50, which was probably a favorable spot for the Celtics considering they made just 37.8 percent of their field-goal attempts and the Heat shot 52.6 percent.
Holiday started the third quarter with another 3-pointer, but Tatum’s turnover issues harmed the Celtics. He committed three over the first four minutes of the quarter, giving him five for the game and giving the Heat an opening.
The Heat, who were just 5 for 16 from the 3-point line in the first half, connected on 6 of 9 in the quarter and led by as many as 5 points. But Tatum began to find a rhythm later in the period, and in the final minute he hit a 3-pointer and a fadeaway jumper to send the Celtics to the fourth with a 78-77 lead.
White’s second 3 of the fourth quarter, with 9:47 left, gave the Celtics an 86-79 lead. And with Tatum on the bench, Boston’s defense demoralized the Heat, who were held to just four points in the first seven minutes.
White’s third 3 of the quarter, with 3:53 to play, gave the Celtics a 93-86 lead that was never in danger after that.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.