Reserve Anfernee Simons scored 18 of his season-high 39 points in the fourth quarter as the Boston Celtics rallied to defeat the host Miami Heat 119-114 on Thursday night.
Jaylen Brown, who missed Boston’s previous game with back spasms, scored 27 points. He started the night sixth in the NBA with a 29.5 scoring average.
The Celtics, who snapped a two-game losing streak, trailed by 19 points in the first half and began the fourth quarter trailing by 10 points.
Miami got 26 points from Norman Powell and 22 from Tyler Herro. Bam Adebayo also scored 22 points, but only scored five in the second half.
Miami is 0-2 against Boston this season.
The Heat played without starting point guard Davion Mitchell (shoulder injury) and forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (knee). Mitchell leads Heat in assists (7.3); and Jaquez (15.9 points, 4.6 assists) is one of the favorites for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award.
Miami, thanks to 15 consecutive points, started with a balance of 18-4, and the Heat led 36-25 at the end of the first quarter. Simons kept Boston close with 11 points, the most in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Boston cut its deficit to 38-34 before Miami reasserted itself and took a 64-54 lead into halftime.
During the first half, Miami had a 15-0 advantage in fast break points, shooting 51.1% from the field and 10 of 23 from 3-point range. Boston had a 42.2% success rate on three-point shots and 7 of 20 triples.
Boston responded again in the third quarter, reducing its deficit to 72-66. But at the end of the quarter, Miami maintained its 10-point lead, 93-83.
In the fourth quarter, Boston did it again, cutting their lead to 100-98 with 5:51 left. Simons, who had scored 11 consecutive points for Boston, was double-teamed and passed the ball to Sam Hauser for a 3-pointer that put the Celtics up 101-100 with 5:21 left. It was Boston’s first lead since the first quarter.
Brown’s triple with 4:05 left gave Boston the lead for good, 107-105.
In the game, Boston outrebounded Miami 51-40, including 18-12 on the offensive glass.
–Field level media
