Heat edge Celtics, remain in line for top seed in East

Jimmy Butler scored 24 points, Kyle Lowry added 23 and the Miami Heat rallied in the fourth quarter to hold off the Celtics 10698 on Wednesday night in Boston to stay atop a tight race for the Eastern Conference's top seed.

Bam Adebayo finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds to help Miami post its second straight win since a season-worst fourgame losing streak.

Since briefly taking over the East's top spot, Boston has lost two in a row for the first time since late January.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Jayson Tatum added 23 points and six assists.

The Celtics said center Robert Williams III is expected to miss four to six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. The team said Williams underwent a partial knee meniscectomy on Wednesday at a hospital in Boston. Williams, a staunch defender, was averaging 10 points, 9.6 rebounds and just more than two blocks this season. MAVERICKS 120, CAVALIERS 112>> Luka Doncic scored 35 points, added 13 assists and put Dallas on the brink of a postseason berth, leading the Mavericks in Cleveland, where the Cavaliers were without star forward Evan Mobley. Mobley, one of the Rookie of the Year frontrunners, missed the game with a sprained ankle suffered Monday night and is expected to miss at least two more games. Dorian Finney-Smith added a career-high 28 points for Dallas. NUGGETS 125, PACERS 118>> Nikola Jokic flirted with another triple-double with 37 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists, lifting Denver in Indianapolis.

RAPTORS 125, TIMBERWOLVES 102>> Pascal Siakam had 12 points, 10 rebounds and a careerhigh 13 assists for his second career triple-double, Gary Trent Jr. scored 29 points and the Raptors strengthened their hold on sixth place in the Eastern Conference in Toronto. WIZARDS 127, MAGIC 110>> Kristaps Porzingis scored 35 points, and Tomas Satoransky had an unusual double-double — no points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for host Washington. Satoransky became the third player to finish a game with no points and at least 10 rebounds and 10 assists, joining Oklahoma City's Josh Giddey earlier this season and Cincinnati's Norm Van Lier in 1971. HORNETS 125, KNICKS 114>> Miles Bridges scored 31 points and LaMelo Ball had 20 points and 15 rebounds to lead Charlotte in New York.

HAWKS 136, THUNDER 118>> Trae Young had 41 points and eight assists for Atlanta in Oklahoma City. KINGS 121, ROCKETS 118>> Davion Mitchell, Damian Jones and Trey Lyles scored 24 points each as Sacramento outlasted host Houston.