Heat 83, Celtics 75
Hassan Whiteside collected 20 points, nine rebounds and three blocks as visiting Miami held off Boston.
Chris Bosh added 18 points on 6-of-19 shooting as the Heat operated without Dwyane Wade (hamstring) and Luol Deng (calf). Rookie Tyler Johnson recorded season highs of 13 points and nine rebounds in his third career game off the bench for Miami.
Tyler Zeller and Avery Bradley scored 17 points apiece as the Celtics dropped their third straight game. Brandon Bass added 15 points and Marcus Smart handed out nine assists for Boston, which has lost four in a row at home.
Whiteside scored eight straight points in a 10-0 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters and left the Heat in front 69-59. Zeller split a pair of free throws to draw the Celtics within 80-74 with 1:31 remaining but Norris Cole responded with a jumper for Miami.
The Celtics shot 31.8 percent from the field in the first half and went into the break down 44-31 before finding a rhythm at the start of the third. Boston made its first seven field-goal attempts out of the locker room to pull within 51-47 and knotted it up at 59 on Phil Pressey’s free throw with 40 seconds left in the third.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Bradley left in the third quarter to get his left thumb tapped but returned in the fourth. … Celtics F Jared Sullinger was benched at the start for arriving late to the morning walkthrough and ended up with seven points on 3-of-11 shooting in 19 minutes off the bench. … Deng, who missed his third straight game, participated in warmups and could return when the Heat face the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.