Houston Rockets

HOUSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Celtics’ guard Derrick White scored a game-high 28 points and Payton Pritchard added 27 points off the bench as the short-handed Boston throttled the Houston Rockets 114-93 on Wednesday.

The Celtics earned their fourth consecutive victory and claimed both ends of a road back-to-back, including a win in Dallas on Tuesday. The Celtics did so without Jaylen Brown, the Eastern Conference Player of the Month, who paired 33 points with 11 rebounds against the Mavericks, in the second game by unleashing a flurry of 3-pointers early in the third quarter.

White was the linchpin of the decisive surge. The Celtics opened the second half 5 for 7 from behind the arc with White and Baylor Scheierman (15 points, 10 rebounds) nailing two threes apiece before Ron Harper Jr. extended a seven-point halftime lead to 67-48 at the 7:02 mark. When White converted from deep again roughly two minutes later, the Celtics led 72-50.

With 1.1 seconds left in the third, Rockets coach Ime Udoka was assessed a technical foul. The Celtics closed that frame with four free throws, two each from Pritchard and Neemias Queta, and carried an 85-63 lead into the final frame.

Queta posted a double-double of 10 points and 19 rebounds, while Luka Garza added 19 points for the Celtics. Harper paired 11 points with nine rebounds, including a trio of 3-pointers. Boston finished 19 for 51 from behind the arc, with White and Pritchard finishing 11 for 24 from deep.

Kevin Durant led the Rockets with 15 points but missed 7 of 11 shots. Alperen Sengun, who grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, and Jabari Smith Jr. scored 13 points apiece. Amen Thompson (11 points) and Tari Eason (10) also scored in double figures for the Rockets, who shot 41.5%.

The teams combined to shoot 32.6% and missed 17 of 20 3-pointers in the first quarter. The Celtics emerged from that slog with an 8-2 spurt to open the second quarter, only for Smith to drill back-to-back threes that pulled the Rockets to within 26-25.

However, Boston eventually gained some separation later in the quarter to take a 49-42 halftime lead.

–Field Level Media

HOUSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Kristaps Porzingis scored a game-high 32 points while Jaylen Brown added a triple-double as the visiting Boston Celtics outlasted the short-handed Houston Rockets 116-107 on Sunday.

Porzingis finished 6-for-11 from behind the arc as the Celtics went 17-for-47 from deep as a team. Brown had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists and Derrick White finished with 21 points and 12 boards for Boston, which was without Jrue Holiday (elbow) and Al Horford (rest).

The Rockets were without starters Fred VanVleet (back) and Jabari Smith Jr. (ankle). Rookies Amen Thompson, who had career highs of 15 points and 14 rebounds, and Cam Whitmore were inserted into the starting lineup, and the Rockets produced a valiant effort, closing within 93-90 when Dillon Brooks (25 points) scored with 9:13 to play.

But Whitmore missed two free throws and Porzingis answered with a midrange jumper before Payton Pritchard nailed a corner 3-pointer that enabled the Celtics to reclaim control for good.

Alperen Sengun notched a triple-double for Houston with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

Houston, having trailed by 17 points in the first half, pulled within 85-80 when Aaron Holiday buried a 3-pointer with 2:25 left in the third quarter. But the Celtics extended their lead back to double digits entering the fourth when Brown sank a floater and White drilled a step-back 3-pointer with 31.9 seconds left in the third.

Back-to-back Porzingis threes provided the Celtics with their first double-digit lead at 18-8 with 5:52 remaining in the first quarter.

Porzingis tallied 15 points in the first period to help Boston grab a 35-25 advantage, but Houston kept clawing despite its short-handed rotation. Jalen Green followed his circus layup with another bucket in the paint to pull the Rockets within 44-39 with 7:39 remaining in the second quarter.

But the Celtics surged to a 17-point lead behind triples from Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Porzingis. White, meanwhile, scored in the paint four times down the stretch of the first half, and his 12-foot floater with 2.4 seconds left extended the Boston lead to 70-55 at intermission.

Porzingis and White combined for 36 first-half points, and Boston did additional damage on the offensive glass by converting nine offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points.

–Field Level Media