Thomas leads Celtics to road win over Heat
MIAMI -- Isaiah Thomas had 25 points and eight assists to lead the Boston Celtics to a 112-104 victory over the short-handed Miami Heat on Monday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The Celtics (10-7) have won four straight in their series against the Heat (5-12). Boston has won at least one game in Miami in 10 of the past 11 years.
Miami got a scare before the game when center Hassan Whiteside woke up on Monday with a sore left knee. But after an MRI cleared him of anything beyond soreness, Whiteside started and finished with 25 points and 17 rebounds.
In addition, Heat point guard Goran Dragic (left elbow) returned after missing two games and had 27 points and 17 assists, both season highs. Reserve shooting guard Wayne Ellington, who had yet to play this season because of a deep bruise on his right thigh, made his Heat debut and added nine points.
But even with Whiteside, Dragic and Ellington in the lineup, Miami was missing three of its five leading scorers, all out with injuries -- Justise Winslow, Tyler Johnson and Dion Waiters.
Already this season, Miami has nine players who have combined to miss 62 games.
Miami trailed just 21-19 after one quarter, outscoring the Celtics 14-6 in the paint and shooting a higher percentage (47-38) from the floor.
But things fell apart for the Heat during their 12-point second quarter as Boston took a 48-31 lead at halftime. It was the lowest-scoring half for Miami this season as the Heat went 0 of 12 on 3-pointers. Miami made just 1 of 19 outside the paint.
Miami followed its lowest scoring half of the season with its highest scoring quarter. The Heat totaled 42 points in the third quarter and cut the Celtics' lead to 83-73. With just 0.9 of a second left in the third quarter, Miami threw a full-court pass to Ellington, who made an off-balance jumper at the buzzer.
But Miami never got closer than nine points in the fourth quarter.
NOTES: Heat SGs Dion Waiters (groin) and Tyler Johnson (dental surgery) missed their first games of the season. ... Miami SF Justise Winslow (wrist) missed his eighth straight game. With Waiters, Johnson and Winslow out, Miami was missing three of its top five scorers. ... Celtics four-time All-Star C Al Horford missed Monday's game but is expected back on Tuesday. Horford and his wife are expecting the birth of their second child. C Tyler Zeller started in place of Horford, who missed nine games earlier this season with a concussion. Boston went 4-5 during that span. ... Miami C Hassan Whiteside entered Monday leading the NBA in rebounding (14.9) and ranking second in blocks (2.5). ... Celtics G Isaiah Thomas entered Monday ranked ninth in the NBA in scoring (26.1).