Heat 93, Celtics 86
LeBron James scored 29 points and Miami scored the final nine points to send Boston to its 10th straight road loss.
Chris Bosh scored 16 points for the Heat, who were coming off a 2-4 road trip. Chris Andersen came off the bench to score 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting and collect seven rebounds.
Brandon Bass led the Celtics with 15 points while Kris Humphries had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Jared Sullinger and Jeff Green had 12 points apiece and Chris Johnson - signed out of the NBA Developmental League last week - registered 11 points in a reserve role in his first action with Boston.
The Heat shot 63.2 percent to grab a 14-point lead after one quarter and expanded the advantage to 40-22 when Andersen had back-to-back putback slams and Norris Cole made a steal and drove for a layup midway through the second. Green had a pair of 3-pointers as Boston rallied to get within 51-40 at the break and Gerald Wallace nailed another as part of a 13-6 burst to begin the third and trim the Celtics' deficit to four points.
It remained a four-point game entering the fourth and Boston continued to chip away, getting five straight points from Johnson and a fast-break dunk by Humphries to forge a tie at 82 with 5:25 left. Johnson's steal led to another dunk by Humphries to put the Celtics up 86-84 with 3:08 to go, but Miami then began its game-ending 9-0 run, taking the lead on a Ray Allen floater with 1:52 left and getting seven free throws by James down the stretch.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Boston missed four shots, two free throws and turned the ball over twice during Miami's decisive run. ... Celtics PG Avery Bradley sprained his right ankle early in the second quarter and did not return. ... Heat SG Dwyane Wade sat for the third straight game and has missed four of his last six contests.