Celtics beat Heat; Wembanyama gets first NBA win

WASHINGTON – Derrick White put up 28 points as the Boston Celtics beat rivals Miami, 119-111, on Friday (Saturday, Manila time), while NBA draft top pick Victor Wembanyama starred in his first win for the San Antonio Spurs.

Jayson Tatum scored 22 points and Jaylen Brown contributed 27 in a strong all-around display from Boston, with all five starters in double figures as the Celtics won their home opener, a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference championship series.

Miami trailed by just three points with 47.1 seconds left when Jimmy Butler was called for a foul on White, which was unsuccessfully challenged by furious Miami coach Erik Spoelstra.

White then drained his two free throws and when Tyler Herro missed a 3-point jumper and Brown sank his from 30-feet out, Miami's resistance was finally over.

Three crucial blocks added to an impressive performance from White, who was delighted with beating a Heat team that secured a place in the NBA Finals with a game-seven triumph at Boston.

"Anytime you're on home court, you want to protect the home court and obviously, last time we played them here, they came out winning," White said.

"It's always a big game every time we play against them and we're going to see them down the line a lot of times. So it's always fun."

Frenchman Wembanyama turned on the style in San Antonio's 126-122 overtime victory over the Houston Rockets, coming up big in the latter stages of the game as he put up 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds with three blocked shots and two steals.

"It's just a victory but it's a day I'll remember," Wembanyama said.

"I really love winning. This is what I love most in life. Of course it feels great."

The Spurs trailed by two with 32.1 seconds remaining when the 19-year-old grabbed a defensive rebound and tied the game on a driving layup with 20 seconds remaining in regulation.

Wembanyama's 16-foot jumper put his team ahead in overtime and he grabbed four total rebounds in the additional period.

"I'm proud of what we did tonight," Wembanyama said. "We can see where we can get better. A win is a win but it shows that we got a lot of way to go as a team."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was impressed by the