Sign In BOSTON — Kristaps Porzingis being sidelined with a calf injury could have thrown the Boston Celtics all out of sorts in Game 5 against the Miami Heat. But the Celtics inserted Al Horford into the starting lineup and Boston just kept rolling. Horford didn’t put together a dominant performance in Boston’s 118-84 rout of the Heat on Wednesday night at TD Garden, but his effort and on-court presence proved vital with the Celtics not having Porzingis. The longtime veteran was a steadying force for the Celtics, making the right plays at the right time on both ends of the court while adding t ..read more

Sign In BOSTON — Celtics guard Derrick White dusted his hands off in Miami after dropping a career-high 38 points in Game 4 and got right back to work once the Heat desperately searched for a fighting chance to extend the series in Game 5 on Wednesday night. As Kristaps Porzingis remained sidelined with a right soleus strain, and Miami hunted for a Game 6 on its home floor, White ensured the Heat would get a head start on their offseason plans in Boston’s 118-84 series-clincher at TD Garden. White was the primary aggressor in the first quarter, scoring 15 points while going 3-for-4 from 3-poin ..read more

Sign In BOSTON — When the Celtics dropped Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Heat, the team succumbed to the poor habits that prevented them from returning to the NBA Finals last season. Miami’s Caleb Martin — intentional or not — committed a hard and unnecessary foul on Boston star Jayson Tatum in the fourth quarter of Game 1, which the Celtics led at that point by a landslide. Yet, when both teams returned, the Celtics didn’t have a response to Miami’s aggression and instead allowed themselves to get punked as the Heat drained a franchise playoff-record-setting 23 3-point ..read more

Sign In Connor Wong had capable tools during his first few seasons with the Boston Red Sox. His impact to start 2024 far exceeds his previous production. The 28-year-old continued a red-hot start to the season in Boston’s 6-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, tallying three more hits with an RBI. Wong’s batting average is up to .366 on the season with a 1.006 OPS. “He’s swinging more,” Alex Cora offered, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “Whatever he gets in the zone, he’s hitting hard. Him and Pete (Fatse) and the group have a good plan going into the game of what they wa ..read more

Sign In The Red Sox signed Dominic Smith to a one-year deal moments before Boston took the field against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night. It happened so quickly that Smith didn’t have the opportunity to meet his new teammates in the clubhouse before the game, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “A lot of them (my new teammates) I didn’t get to meet until I was out there on the field,” Smith said, per Smith. Boston defeated the Giants 6-2, and Smith knocked in his first run as a Red Sox player. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Smith singled to center, plating Refsnyder ..read more

Sign In BOSTON — Despite the inviting warm weather, the Boston Celtics wanted no part of heading back to Miami. It didn’t take long for Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra to catch on to that notion in Game 5. The Celtics made sure they didn’t have travel plans the rest of this week by routing the Heat, 118-84, at TD Garden on Wednesday night to close out their first-round NBA playoff series. “They took control of this game,” Spoelstra said. “You could sense that they wanted this to end right now tonight and not let this thing get back to Miami. That’s a sign of a mature team.” The Celtics haven’t ..read more

Sign In The Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat 118-84 in Game 5 to close out their round-one matchup of the NBA playoffs. Jaylen Brown and Derrick White led the Celtics with 25 points each, and Brown added six rebounds in 26 minutes of playing time. “We came in, we threw the first punch. We played fast. We played aggressive,” Brown told Abby Chin, as seen on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “And we found a way to get a win. That was the best.” Even though the Celtics lost just one game in the series, Brown said Boston is not getting ahead of themselves as they continue the quest for ..read more

Sign In The Toronto Maple Leafs staved off elimination by defeating the Boston Bruins 2-1 in overtime in Game 5 on Tuesday night. With the series shifting back to Scotiabank Arena for Game 6, Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe is not taking the win for granted, according to NHL.com’s Dave McCarthy. “We’ve earned another day here, but we are still in a battle,” Keefe said on Wednesday, per McCarthy. “That certainly has not changed. We’ve gotten the opponent’s attention here now.” Whether the Leafs have the Bruins’ attention or not, Keefe expects Boston to respond accordingly when the puck drops on ..read more

Sign In BOSTON — The Boston Celtics closed out their first-round NBA playoff series against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night with a 118-84 blowout win in Game 5 at TD Garden. The Celtics took the series, 4-1, and won three straight games after dropping Game 2. Check out the full box score here. ONE BIG TAKEAWAY The Celtics left nothing to chance in Game 5 to make sure they extinguished the Heat and sent them home packing. Boston, which played without the injured Kristaps Porzingis, was the aggressor from the start and never trailed in the contest. Derrick White carried over his hot hand from ..read more

Sign In The Boston Red Sox defeated the San Francisco Giants 6-2 in the middle game of a three-game set on Wednesday night at Fenway Park. With the win, Boston moves to 18-13 while San Francisco moves to 14-17. Check out the full box score here. ONE BIG TAKEAWAY Boston put together several quality at-bats for the second straight day. The Red Sox chased Logan Webb early on Tuesday night and chipped away against San Francisco starter Erik Miller. Boston got production up and down the lineup, working four walks and getting at least one RBI from six different hitters. Rafael Devers stayed hot with ..read more