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Injuries no problem for Celtics as Boston routs depleted Heat

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Injuries no problem for Celtics as Boston routs depleted Heat


What do you get when you combine the Celtics’ thinnest roster of the season with one of Jayson Tatum’s shakiest showings of 2024-25?

Evidently, an easy Boston victory.

Down two starters and two of its top reserves, the Celtics blew out a similarly shorthanded Miami Heat squad 108-89 on Monday night at TD Garden.

Jaylen Brown led Boston with 29 points on 8-of-21 shooting, with Payton Pritchard delivering another stellar performance off the bench (25 points on 10-of-17, including 5-of-12 from 3-point range). Derrick White added 19 points, eight assists and six rebounds in his return from a foot injury, and Luke Kornet tied his career high with six blocked shots.

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Tatum had 18 points and 11 rebounds and committed a season-high six turnovers.

Miami, which was playing without All-Star Jimmy Butler and five other players, shot 35.6% from the floor and 22.9% from three and trailed by double digits for most of the second half.

Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford sat out on the second night of a back-to-back, with the previous night’s injury issues forcing head coach Joe Mazzulla to play both in a road loss to Cleveland rather than staggering their games off. Jrue Holiday also was ruled out with a knee injury, and Sam Hauser was a late scratch for personal reasons, leaving Boston without four of its core rotation players.

Tatum, Brown and White all were listed as questionable before getting the green light, with Brown and White returning after missing the Cavaliers game. Mazzulla called Brown (illness) a game-time decision, and his availability was not confirmed until after his pregame warmup.

From that group, Mazzulla assembled a brand-new starting lineup, plucking Kornet and Jordan Walsh off the bench to join Tatum, Brown and White. It was just the second career start for Walsh, a 2024 second-round draft pick who was coming off back-to-back healthy DNPs and hadn’t played more than eight minutes in any game since Nov. 8.

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The Celtics fell into an early 7-0 hole but reeled off a 17-2 run to surge ahead. Kornet fueled that push with three makes at the rim, including one off a White alley-oop.

Boston is the NBA’s most prolific 3-point shooting team, but its first made three didn’t come until the 5:44 mark of the first quarter, after Mazzulla had subbed in an almost entirely new second unit that surrounded Tatum with Pritchard, Neemias Queta, Xavier Tillman and Drew Peterson.

Peterson is a two-way player who’d seen minimal NBA playing time before his surprise 25-minute shift Sunday night. Tillman has struggled to crack the rotation since the opening week of the season.

Tatum hit two threes after the line change but went just 3-for-10 from the floor in the first quarter. The Celtics took a slim 28-25 lead into the second.

That advantage then spiked thanks to Pritchard and Brown, who combined to score Boston’s next 14 points. Two threes from White and one from Peterson helped the Celtics stretch their lead to 17 points, and it sat at 60-45 at halftime.

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The second quarter also featured three Kornet blocks and a cameo from Baylor Scheierman — the first meaningful minutes of the first-round draft pick’s young career. Scheierman, who’s been developing in the G League, notched a rebound, an assist and a steal and was a plus-7, though he looked like he’s still adjusting to the speed of the NBA game.

The Celtics slogged through an ugly start to the second half that included Tatum turnovers on three consecutive possessions and a 7-0 Miami run. The Heat got to within eight before Boston recovered, holding the visitors to one made field goal over the next seven minutes. By the time that slump ended, the rout was on, with a Brown 3-pointer putting the Celtics up 78-57 with 3:05 remaining in the third.

Another of Pritchard’s patented buzzer-beaters — this one a slick driving layup rather than a long-range three — extended Boston’s lead to 22 entering the final quarter. The Celtics outscored the Heat 25-18 in the third despite turning the ball over nine times.

This was the fourth straight 20-point performance for Pritchard, who continues to strengthen his case for NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

Peterson, who spent time with Miami’s G League affiliate as an undrafted rookie last season, stared down the Heat bench after hitting a fourth-quarter 3-pointer. The 6-foot-9 wing showed potential in his fill-in stints this week, finishing Monday’s game with seven points on 2-of-5 shooting and seven rebounds.

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Mazzulla emptied what was left of his bench in the final minutes, inserting JD Davison and Jaden Springer with the victory secured.

The Celtics will host the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday before playing another back-to-back against Milwaukee and Memphis on Friday and Saturday. They’ll also find out their NBA Cup fate on Tuesday, as the outcomes of Knicks-Magic and Bucks-Pistons will determine whether Boston advances to the knockout rounds of the in-season tournament.

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Boston, MA

Boston College Locks in 2025 Athlete Kaelan Chudzinski

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Boston College Locks in 2025 Athlete Kaelan Chudzinski


Bill O’Brien and the Boston College Eagles continue to roll through the early signing period for football, locking in yet another talented prospect as a member of the 2025 recruiting class.

3-Star wide receiver/tight end Kaelan Chudzinski officially signed with the Eagles on Wednesday. He committed to Boston College in early November and has been locked in with the Eagles ever since.

Chudzinski, who hails from Needham, Mass., is a big bodied target, standing at 6-foot-4, 210 lbs. with the ability to also play tight end. This season he’s helped guide a St. Sebastian’s Arrows team to a 4-3 record. He uses his big frame to haul in contested catches, and also is a very effective blocker in the run game.

While he lacks the outright speed of some other prospect in this year’s recruiting class and of some of the players already on the roster, Chudzinski plays with a high motor and is a very efficient route runner.

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247Sports ranks the talented prospect as the No. 128 tight end in the nation and the No. 12 player in the state of Massachusetts.

As of now, the Eagles hold the No. 50 ranked recruiting class in the nation, according to 247Sports’ composite ranking, but could still be in play to land more talented prospects.

Stay locked into Boston College on SI for all your Eagles news, and check out our Boston College football recruiting tracker to stay up to date on the 2025 class and more.

See Also…

Boston College Men’s Basketball Drops ACC/SEC Challenge to South Carolina

Seven Boston College Football Players Earn All-ACC Honors



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Bruins Notes: Boston Noticing 'Passion' Revival Under Joe Sacco

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Bruins Notes: Boston Noticing 'Passion' Revival Under Joe Sacco


The Boston Bruins opened up a new chapter under interim head coach Joe Sacco and while the results are showing, the locker room is feeling a change of direction too.

Boston defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 in overtime, on Tuesday night for the second time since Sacco took over for Jim Montgomery. Much like their recent trip to Detroit in November, the Bruins were put to the test in terms of their patience, defensive poise and ability to score in a timely fashion.

The Black and Gold passed, needless to say, and credit Sacco’s step up to the helm at the team’s recent click, putting them now at 13-11-3 on the year.

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“I think we’re playing with a passion,” Nikita Zadorov told reporters, per team-provided audio. “I think we’re playing with pride. I think we’re playing for each other. I thought we were disconnected before. That’s what wasn’t working. I don’t think we fixed much X’s and O’s. I think it’s the same system, the same game plans. We’re just doing it this time.”

Zadorov added: “If one guy makes mistakes, other guys are gonna clean up for them. So I think that’s the main change from the start of the year.”

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The Bruins were cornered once Detroit’s Lucas Raymond scored his second goal of the night in the third period to give the Red Wings a 2-1 lead. It might’ve uplifted Detroit’s bench, however, it wasn’t strong enough for a knockout blow to put Boston away for good. Justin Brazeau had a response of his own for the Red Wings, giving the Bruins new life heading into overtime.

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Pavel Zacha, at 2:15 into overtime, took care of the night from there with the game-decider.

“Anytime that we can go out there, especially at that point in the game when you’re down a goal, and that power play unit goes out there and puts one in, it lifts the team is what it does,” Sacco said, per team-provided audio. “It helps the spirit on the bench. It lifts people up as opposed to bringing us down so that was a good sign. That was a positive sign.”

It’s only been seven games, but the Bruins are yet to lose on back-to-back occasions under Sacco, racking up a handful of their season’s most impressive wins in the process.

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Here are more notes from Tuesday night’s Bruins-Red Wings game:

— Boston improved to 5-2 under Sacco’s leadership.

— Bruins goalie Joonas Korpisalo, who held the Red Wings scoreless in the second period, recorded 27 saves on the night. The 30-year-old has notched 20-plus saves in each of last six starts for Boston.

“He deserves a lot of credit for the way he’s come in and played under tough situations sometimes,” Sacco said, per team-provided audio”Tonight he got the beginning of a back-to-back but sometimes he doesn’t. He may get the end of the back-to-backs and he’s just been really solid for us. Really all you can ask from your goaltender is to give your team a chance to win and he’s done that on most nights.”

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— Zadorov’s first-period goal clocked in at 90.46 miles per hour, according to Bruins Correspondent Shawn Hutcheon, marking the fastest goal from a Boston player this season.

“He was engaged in the game tonight,” Sacco said, per team-provided audio. “He was physical, and he was just defending hard tonight. When he was on the ice, the opposition knew that he was playing.”

— The Red Wings, now 10-11-4, have lost three straight games.

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— The Bruins will next hit the road and head to the Windy City for a meeting with the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Puck drop from United Center is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, and that matchup will be aired on TNT.

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Boston policelooking for man charged with multiple counts in 2023 carnival shooting

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Boston policelooking for man charged with multiple counts in 2023 carnival shooting


A Boston man who was charged last year in connection with a shooting during the city’s Caribbean Carnival celebration is wanted by police.

Gerald Vick, 31, of Dorchester is wanted on a warrant out of Suffolk Superior Court, according to the Boston Police Department. He is charged with eight counts of assault and battery with a firearm, unlawful possession of a machine gun, unlawful possession of a firearm, and firearm use in the commission of a felony.

The charges are related to an Aug. 26, 2023, shooting near 15 Talbot Ave., police said. There, eight people — six men and two women — suffered gunshot wounds. None of their injuries were life-threatening.

Vick and Dwayne Francis, 30, of Dorchester were arrested. Vick had a, “9mm pistol with a large capacity magazine, equipped with a ‘Glock switch’ that enabled the firearm to fire continuously,” police said. Several other people were charged in connection with the gunfight.

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Vick has pleaded not guilty to his charges, according to The Boston Globe. Since he was arrested he was released on $6,000 cash bail and was ordered to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet.

But, that bracelet stopped functioning around 1:04 a.m. Monday, the Globe reported. Vick also didn’t show up to his 9 a.m. trial that day in violation of his pre-trial release conditions. This prompted the police to release a fugitive warrant.

  • Read More: Several arrests made in connection with shooting at Boston Caribbean Carnival

Vick has an additional default warrant out of Suffolk Superior Court for firearm-related offenses, police said.

Vick is a Black man about 5 feet 6 inches tall, about 155 pounds and he has several tattoos, police said. He might have ties to Taunton.

Police encourage anyone who comes in contact with him to call them. Anyone with information about Vick should contact detectives at 617-343-4712.

“Community members wishing to assist in this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1 800-494-TIPS (8477) or by texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463),” police said. “The Boston Police Department will stringently guard and protect the identities of all those who wish to help this investigation in an anonymous manner.”

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