The Celtics have made a habit of winning games the hard way lately.

Friday night might have been the clearest example yet.

Boston erased a 22-point hole to beat the Heat 98-96 at TD Garden, completing its biggest comeback of the season and extending its winning streak to five games. It was ugly, disjointed, and borderline unwatchable for a half - and then it turned into a reminder of why this Celtics team feels sturdier now than it did a week ago.

The first half was a mess.

Boston shot just 29.8% from the field, missed 19 of their 20 three-point attempts, and went into halftime down 21 despite playing at home. No one outside of Jaylen Brown could find any rhythm, and Miami’s switching defense baited the Celtics into the worst version of themselves.

But this team didn’t panic. It adjusted.

Behind Payton Pritchard, Nikola Vucevic, and a renewed commitment to playing through contact instead of over it, Boston flipped the game with a 25-7 run to close the third quarter and survived a final Miami push to take full control of the No. 2 seed in the East.

Here are four takeaways from Friday’s comeback win.

The role change hasn’t slowed him down one bit.

After thriving as a starter all season, Pritchard has seamlessly slid back into his familiar sixth-man role following the Anfernee Simons trade.

Friday was his best example yet.

He shook off a quiet first half and became the engine of Boston’s comeback, scoring 24 points off the bench and spearheading the decisive third-quarter run.

This is what the Celtics envisioned when they reshaped the roster: one steady ball-handler on the floor at all times, no drop-off, no scrambling.

There’s a reason why this guy was last season’s Sixth Man of the Year.

Vucevic’s debut was understated on the surface - 11 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists - but the impact was real.

He gave Boston size, rebounding security, and an offensive release valve against switches that simply didn’t exist before.

The Celtics looked calmer with him on the floor.

They didn’t have to manufacture everything from the perimeter.

For a team that’s spent months winning without a safety net, that matters.

5% from three in a half should bury you.

It didn’t.

Boston went 1 for 20 from deep in the first half, including 0 for 14 from the starters, and still found a way to climb back by leaning into defense, rebounding, and rim pressure.

That’s growth.

Earlier versions of this team would’ve doubled down on bad shots.

This one pivoted.

Joe Mazzulla experimented early, starting with double-big looks involving Neemias Queta and Luka Garza.

It didn’t last.

As the game tightened, Vucevic became the primary option, especially in lineups where spacing and decision-making mattered most.

Queta and Garza still have roles - particularly matchup-specific ones - but Friday hinted at how quickly Vucevic could become the trusted center when games demand structure over chaos.

This wasn’t a pretty win. It was better than that.

It was the kind of win that reflects a roster with answers - answers it didn’t have a month ago.

Boston is cleaner now, more flexible, and better equipped to survive nights when the shots don’t fall.

Against a Heat team that thrives on dragging opponents into the mud, the Celtics proved they can still find their footing.

And that’s how teams stay near the top of the East.

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Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.