Boston Celtics @ Houston Rockets
Friday, January 3, 2025 at 8:00 PM ET
Toyota Center, Houston, TX | Game ID: 22400471
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
HOU 31 25 16 14 86BOS 37 28 17 27 109
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Derrick White scores 23 points as Celtics roll to 109-86 win over Rockets
HOUSTON -- — Derrick White had 23 points and Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard added 20 each to lead the Boston Celtics to a 109-86 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
The Celtics led by 10 after three and scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to push their advantage to 93-72. White, Kristaps Porzingis and Pritchard made 3s in that stretch to help the Celtics pull away for their third straight victory.
Boston was up by 21 points with about 4 1/2 minutes to go when coach Joe Mazzulla cleared the bench.
Porzingis added 11 points with five rebounds in his return after missing four games with a sprained left ankle.
Jalen Green had 27 points for the Rockets. They lost for the third time in four games.
Takeaways Celtics: Boston had no trouble handling Houston despite playing without Jaylen Brown , who missed a second straight game with a shoulder strain. Sam Hauser , who had 15 points Thursday night filling in for Brown, didn't score Friday night.
Rockets: Houston started 38-year-old Jeff Green for the first time this season with news Friday that Jabari Smith Jr. could miss up to two months after breaking a bone in his hand during shootaround. Amen Thompson , the fourth pick in the 2023 draft, will fill in for him moving forward after finishing up a two-game suspension Friday night for a fight with Miami’s Tyler Herro last weekend.
Key moment Boston’s big run to open the fourth quarter and extend the lead to 21 points.
Key stat The Rockets made just 32 of 88 shots with Green going 10 of 21 and Cam Whitmore making just 4 of 17.
Up next The Celtics visit Oklahoma City on Sunday, and the Rockets host the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
BOSDP D. Peterson
DW D. White
JH J. Holiday
JS J. Springer
JT J. Tatum
JW J. Walsh
KP K. Porziņģis
LK L. Kornet
NQ N. Queta
PP P. Pritchard
PO Porzingis
SH S. Hauser
XT X. Tillman
HOUAH A. Holiday
AS A. Sengun
CW C. Whitmore
DB D. Brooks
FV F. VanVleet
JG J. Green
JL J. Landale
JT J. Tate
JG Ja. Green
RS R. Sheppard
SA S. Adams
BOS/HOU the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur