Joe Mazzulla took the blame for the late-game miscues, saying he put his players in poor position but it was evident that Horford’s absence proved costly in that spot since Kornet has not played in crunch time for much of the season.

More than just his stats, Horford brings a calming veteran presence to a Celtics squad brimming with youthful talent. His leadership and basketball IQ are critical in high-pressur

The Celtics might be without two players, Derrick White and Al Horford, when they take on the Rockets on Monday night.

The Rockets ruled out wing Cam Whitmore (illness) and have been without starting forward Jabari Smith Jr. since Smith fractured his hand earlier this month. Amen Thompson and Tari Eason, who both missed the first Celtics-Rockets game on Jan. 3, both were available for Houston.

The Celtics expected to be down two rotation players in their matchup with the Rockets. Minutes before tipoff, they learned they’d actually be missing three.

The Celtics pushed their lead to as many as 12 points early in the fourth quarter Rockets did not go down without a fight late, answering with a 13-0 run to retake the lead. It was a back-and-forth battle down the stretch with the two sides trading baskets before Thompson hit the game-winner with 0.7 seconds left in regulation.

Amen Thompson had the clutch go-ahead bucket and Dillon Brooks made a franchise record-tying 10 3-pointers in the Rockets' win over the Celtics on Monday.

Amen Thompson hit a game-winning floater with 0.7 seconds left and finished with 33 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 114-112 victory over the Boston Celtics.

Amen Thompson hit a game-winning floater with 0.7 seconds left and finished with 33 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 114-112 victory over the Bo

To open a road back-to-back, the Rockets are underdogs Monday at Boston. The defending champion Celtics (-6.5) enter with three wins in four games.

The Houston Rockets defeated the Boston Celtics 114-112 with an Amen Thompson game-winner. Thompson had 33 points while Dillon Brooks scored 36 with a career-high 10 three-pointers.

The Boston Celtics have now blown a fourth-quarter lead nine times this season. Nine times in 47 games. They blew nine games in the fourth quarter all of last season. Monday night was the seventh time this season the Celtics have lost a game they led by 10 points.