NBA glance: Derrick White scores 38, Celtics top Heat 102-88 to take a 3-1 East playoff series lead

MIAMI (AP) — The good news for the Miami Heat is that the Boston Celtics might not be back in South Florida for a few months.

And that’s also the bad news for the Heat.

Boston now has full control of this Eastern Conference series, with Derrick White scoring a career-high 38 points on Monday night and leading the top-seeded Celtics past the eighth-seeded Heat 102-88 to take a 3-1 lead in their opening-round NBA playoff series.

“I made a couple shots early,” said White, who was 15 of 26 from the field and 8 of 15 from 3-point range. “That always helps. Once you make a couple, the basket looks huge.”

The Celtics won at Miami for the sixth straight time and improved to 14-3 in their last 17 games on the Heat’s home floor. But it was a costly win, with Kristaps Porzingis going down in the first half with what the team said was a right calf injury. He left the arena in a walking boot, often used as a precaution.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said he had not gotten a postgame update on Porzingis’ condition.

“I didn’t see what happened,” Mazzulla said.

Jayson Tatum added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who got 17 points from Jaylen Brown and 11 from Jrue Holiday.

“We had to keep fighting,” Tatum said, “and play desperate in a way.”

Bam Adebayo finished with 25 points, 17 rebounds and five assists for Miami, which had a sellout crowd — including Lionel Messi — but played again without injured starters Jimmy Butler (knee) and Terry Rozier (neck). The Heat managed only 84 points in Game 3 and struggled again on offense in Game 4.

Tyler Herro scored 19 points and Caleb Martin had 18 for the eighth-seeded Heat. Miami lost rookie starter Jaime Jaquez Jr. in the second half with leg tightness; he will be evaluated Tuesday.

“Offensively, we struggled again,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We had some decent looks early on, weren’t able to knock those down, and Derrick White was very good tonight — obviously. … He was just very efficient, very good.”

The Celtics can advance to the second round on Wednesday when they host Game 5. The Boston-Miami winner will meet the Cleveland-Orlando winner in the East semifinals; that Cavaliers-Magic series won’t end until at least Friday.

“We’re going into the lion’s den,” Adebayo said. “Everybody knows what’s at stake. It’s 3-1.”

But the Celtics now have an injury concern, with Porzingis lifting his jersey over his face in exasperation after getting hurt late in the first half.

“Worried,” said Celtics center Al Horford, who started after halftime in Porzingis’ place. “Just concerned. … Definitely concerning for me. He’s in good spirits, but we don’t know what it’s going to be. I’m just hoping that it’s nothing serious and he can get back to us quick.”

With 5:04 left, there was some more drama after Tatum tried to shoot a 3-pointer moments after a foul was called. Adebayo defended the dead-ball play, and Tatum rolled his left ankle after Adebayo stepped into his landing area. Referees called a flagrant-1 on Adebayo, and a technical on Horford for reacting.

Tatum remained in the game.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Mazzulla said.

Adebayo didn’t want to discuss the explanation he got as to why what he did merited a flagrant-foul designation. “We’re just going to move on from that,” he said.

The good news for Boston: History says this series is just about over.

This is the 29th time a Boston team has taken a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series. The Celtics won all 28 of the previous series, including seven times in the NBA Finals and a first-round series against Miami in 2010 — the last games the Heat played before luring LeBron James and Chris Bosh to South Florida and forming a superteam around Dwyane Wade.

Williams, Gilgeous-Alexander, lead OKC to a 97-89 Game 4 victory — and sweep of Pelicans

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — For all the scoring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander does for Oklahoma City, his hustle back on defense after having a shot blocked was a pivotal part of a playoff series-clinching victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

“To win basketball games, a lot goes into it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We just know those little things come with winning and we do it every opportunity we get.”

Gilgeous-Alexander had 24 points and 10 rebounds and the Thunder beat the Pelicans 97-89 on Monday night to complete a four-game sweep of their first-round playoff series.

The game turned on a fourth-quarter sequence which began with Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado knocking the ball from Gilgeous-Alexander as he attempted a mid-range shot. Pelicans guard CJ McCollum grabbed the ball and dribbled the other way on a two-on-one fast break against the Thunder’s Jalen Williams.

When McCollum’s layup attempt missed, Gilgeous-Alexander, trailing from behind, grabbed the rebound.

“I turned it over, clearly. And then they would have got a layup if it wasn’t for Dub,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, referring to Williams’ defense under the basket. “I just wanted to make sure that if he did his part, I was there to do my part”

Soon after, Chet Holmgren’s putback and Josh Giddey’s 3 tied it at 80 and ignited a decisive 18-2 run, capped by Williams’ 3, that put the Thunder up 93-82 with 3:08 left.

“Guys played with great confidence and when we play offense the way we did in the fourth quarter, the shots will go in a little bit more,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, who a day earlier had been named the NBA’s coach of the year. “When we needed to, we really worked together, executed, got great shots. The guys delivered.”

Williams finished with 24 points. Giddey and Holmgren each scored 14 points. Holmgren also had nine rebounds.

“We knew tonight was going to be a challenge,” Giddey said. “Guys came in with the right mindset … and we put it to bed.”

McCollum scored 20 for New Orleans, which was plagued by poor 3-point shooting. The Pelicans hit just eight of 34 shots from deep (23.5%).

“We were right there,” McCollum said. “This is a really good team we played against. Obviously, they are the No. 1 team for a reason, and it’s disappointing we weren’t able to get one game.”

Murray overcomes calf injury to score 32 and hit game-winner in Nuggets’ 108-106 win over Lakers

DENVER (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 32 points despite a strained calf and sank the game-winner with 3.6 seconds left as the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets bounced LeBron James from the playoffs again with a 108-106 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 Monday night.

James’ two free throws tied it at 106 with 26 seconds left and the Nuggets, just as they did in Game 2, eschewed the timeout and Murray took the ball on a high screen and roll to his left, shaking Austin Reaves as he crossed through the lane and swished the 14-footer.

It was Murray’s buzzer beater that also won Game 2.

“This one was a little better,” Murray said as confetti swirled around him and his celebrating teammates.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he had “the utmost confidence” in Murray making the game-winner. “That’s why I didn’t call a timeout. Let the best two-game game in the business play their game and get to their spots.”

Nikola Jokic, who committed an uncharacteristic seven turnovers, narrowly missed his 19th career playoff triple-double with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists and Michael Porter Jr. scored 26.

James had 30 points and 11 assists and Davis had 17 points and 15 rebound but appeared bothered down the stretch after banging his left shoulder into MPJ in the second half.