Celtics News: Celtics Drop Heartbreaker to Heat, Nearing Closer to Play-In

The Celtics welcomed the Heat to TD Garden earlier today but did not get the result they wanted. A 79-point first half for Miami led them to a 130-126 win over Boston.

Jimmy Butler led the Heat in scoring with 26 points, adding 8 rebounds and 11 assists as well. Miami was on fire from three, shooting 45.7% on the game. Duncan Robinson led the charge for them in that regard, shooting 6-10 from deep and scoring 22 points.

Meanwhile, Evan Fournier dropped 30 points in his best game yet in a Celtics uniform. He led the team in scoring as Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker backed him up with 29 and 18 points, respectively.

Although the C’s outscored the Heat 71-51 in the second half, Miami’s red hot first half ended up being too much to overcome. Brad Stevens talked about this issue, as well as Boston’s problems with staying engaged, in his postgame press conference.

With the win, Miami moves two full games ahead of the Celtics in the Eastern Conference standings. The Knicks sit in 4th place three games ahead, and the Hawks sit two games ahead with tiebreaker in hand over the Celtics. Boston will face off vs the Heat again this Tuesday, with the winner clinching the season series. That one tips off at 7:30 PM on TNT.