The Miami Heat (49-28) and the Boston Celtics (47-30) came into their matchup on Wednesday night separated by just one game with the Heat ahead of everyone in the East, and it stayed that way after a 106-98 victory over the Celtics.
The game was close with the Heat having a one-point lead heading into the half, then both teams went on runs in the third quarter. Miami went on a 10-0 run early going up by nine (65-56) then Boston went on a huge 16-0 run to go back up five (74-69).
This was a key win for the Heat as they stayed atop the East and they got back on track in consecutive wins after dropping four straight and teammates having to be separated in they’re loss against the Golden State Warriors 118-104 just a week from Wednesday. Jimmy Butler, who was at the center of that incident led the way for Miami scoring 24 points.
“We’ve gotten a lot better of knowing where the ball has to go,” Butler said. “Putting everybody in the position that they need to be in to be successful.”
Kyle Lowry also scored 23 points and eight assist and big man Bam Adebayo had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and he also had eight assist. “I think we did a good job of just communicating and being there for each other,” Lowry said. They also had six blocks.
Jaylen Brown led the way for Boston with a double-double 28 points(game-high) and 10 rebounds.
Jayson Tatum who came into this game averaging 34 ppg in the month of March was held to 23 points and missed all five of his three’s. “It’s a good thing for us to learn from,” Tatum said. “The season is not decided today. We’ve still got games to play, playoffs. So, we’ll be good.”
Daniel Theis, who came over in a midseason trade with the Chicago Bulls chipped in with 15 points and was perfect from the field (6-6 FG, 1-1 3PT). Veteran Al Horford had a game-high 15 rebounds as he stepped in for injured Robert Williams who will be out for the rest of the regular season for Boston with a torn meniscus.
Heat: Continue three-game road trip @Chicago on Saturday.
Celtics: Host Indiana on Friday.
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