Butler strong down stretch, Heat hold off Celtics 130-124
BOSTON (AP) — Jimmy Butler had 26 points and 11 assists to help the Miami Heat hold off the Boston Celtics 130-124 Sunday as the teams fight for position in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race.
Duncan Robinson added 22 points and Bam Adebayo finished with 20 for Miami, which increased its lead over Boston to two games for sixth place in the standings. The Heat (3731) now have the same record as fifth-place Atlanta, but the Hawks own the head-to-head tiebreaker.
It is the first of two straight games between Miami and Boston, which meet for the final time during the regular season on Tuesday.
“It always feels great win,” Butler said. “But I don’t think that we closed the game like we’re supposed to or capable of either. So at the same time we’ve got to be better.”
Evan Fournier scored 30 points to lead the Celtics (35-33), who have lost three out of four as they try to avoid the play-in round of the playoffs. Jayson Tatum added 29 points and Kemba Walker finished with 18.
Boston struggled offensively without AllStar Jaylen Brown, who missed his third straight game with a sprained right ankle. Big man Robert Williams III tried to play through turf toe in his left foot, scoring four points in 11 minutes in the first half. But he labored on it at times and was scratched for the second half.
“When we’re not completely engaged for whatever reason, we’re just not good,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “When we’re completely engaged, we’re a good basketball team. When we’re not, we’re not even close to being able to compete with anybody, let alone a team like Miami.”
Miami led by as many as 26 in the first half before Boston stormed back, opening the third quarter on a 22-8 run to get within 12 points.
The Celtics kept chipping away and cut it all the way to 113-107 with 4:51 to play on a layup by Walker.