Feb 1, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside (21) battles for a loose ball with Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (L) and forward Jared Sullinger (7) during the first half at TD Garden. Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
BOSTON — Hassan Whiteside, the center Miami rescued from basketball oblivion, continued his rebirth and led the Heat to a road win on Sunday.
The 25-year-old 7-footer, who has toiled in the D-League and overseas, scored six straight points to start the fourth quarter as the Heat, after blowing a 15-point lead, used an 8-0 run at the start of the quarter and went on to an 83-75 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Miami, playing without injured Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng (and, of course, the departed LeBron James and Ray Allen), got 20 points, nine rebounds and three blocks from Whiteside. He was coming off a 16-point, 24-rebound game in Friday night’s terrible loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Over the last four games, Whiteside, who came off the bench to block 12 shots in the first of those four games, has 66 points and 59 rebounds.
Forward Chris Bosh, coming off a 5-of-18 shooting game against Dallas, still struggled from the field, going 6 of 19, but scored 18 points. Guard Tyler Johnson, also a free agent, on his second 10-day contract, came off the bench with 13 points (a high for his brief career), eight rebounds and four assists for the Heat (21-26) in the opener of a four-game trip.
With the local crowd thinking of the Super Bowl, which was hours away, the Celtics, hitting their first seven shots of the second half, overcame a dreadful first half and fought back to tie, inciting the crowd. But they never led.
Guard Avery Bradley and center Tyler Zeller led the Celtics (16-30) with 17 points apiece, while forward Brandon Bass had 15 and rookie guard Marcus Smart had nine assists and five rebounds to go with three points.
Forward Tayshaun Prince, who made his home debut with the Celtics Friday night after coming over from Memphis, was on the bench in uniform, but didn’t play, sparking speculation he may well be on the move again. However, coach Brad Stevens said after the game that Prince was bothered by a hip-flexor injury. He had 13 points in 21 minutes off the bench Friday.
NOTES: With G Dwyane Wade (hamstring) not on the trip, F Luol Dang (calf) worked out before the game but didn’t dress for Miami. … Citing traffic, Celtics F Jared Sullinger was five minutes late for the morning walkthrough and didn’t start, coach Brad Stevens insisting it was no big deal. Sullinger had been the only Celtic to start every game. … Rookie swingman James Young, fresh off going 9 of 13 from 3-point range for D-League Maine Red Claws Saturday, was back with the Celtics. … A New England Patriots video and song fired up the crowd, many wearing Patriots garb, during a second-half timeout. … G Mario Chalmers played in his 486th game for Miami, tying him with Keith Askins for fourth place on the team’s all-time list. … F Kelly Olynyk (ankle) was still out for Boston. … The Heat continue their four-game road trip at Detroit on Tuesday night, while the Celtics, who opened a stretch of five games in seven days Sunday, are at the New York Knicks on the same night.
