Celtics 98, Heat 88
BOSTON -- Coming off double-digit losses in the past two games, the Boston Celtics talked about playing with more aggression in their regular-season finale against the Miami Heat with Eastern Conference playoff seeding on the line.
It took the Celtics until the second half to unleash their aggression.
Guard Isaiah Thomas' 21 points led five Boston players in double digits and the Celtics outscored the Heat 60-26 in the second half to overcome a 26-point deficit and prevail 98-88 at TD Garden.
With the Celtics' win, the Atlanta Hawks' loss and the Charlotte Hornets' win, the Celtics (48-34) will be the fifth seed in the East and open the playoffs against the fourth-seeded Hawks this weekend.
Joe Johnson and Hassan Whitehead each had 19 points for the Heat (48-34), who still secured the Southeast Division title and the third seed in he East because of Atlanta's loss.
The Celtics had lost by 14 points to Charlotte on Monday and by 11 to Atlanta on Saturday.
Boston never led Miami in the first half and was behind 62-38 at halftime.
Johnson's 3-pointer with 11:25 left in the third quarter put the Heat up 65-41, but Miami didn't score again for 7:51.
The Celtics went on a 20-0 run to cut the lead to 65-61 before Johnson's jumper with 3:34 left in the quarter ended the streak and put Miami ahead 67-61 when the Celtics called timeout.
The Celtics limited the Heat to 2-of-20 shooting from the field in the third quarter and outscored Miami 25-5 to trim the lead to 67-63 when the quarter ended.
Tempers flared after the horn when Celtics guard Marcus Smart was knocked down by Heat guard Goran Dragic on a rebound and Smart tried to get at Dragic.
Players from both sides poured onto the floor, but no punches were thrown and Smart and Dragic were assessed double technical fouls.
Boston kept rolling early in the fourth quarter. Kelly Olynyk's three-point play with 9:39 left capped a 9-2 run and gave the Celtics their first lead at 72-69.
The Celtics extended their lead to six several times and grabbed their first double-digit lead at 89-79 on two Thomas free throws with 2:55 left.
NOTES: F Udonis Haslem was listed as out on the Heat's afternoon injury report because of a sprained left foot he suffered Tuesday in Miami's 99-93 road win over the Detroit Pistons. But he warmed up and was available to play. "We're talking about Udonis Haslem here," Heat coach Eric Spoelstra said about how the veteran could possibly go from being out to available in a matter of hours. Haslem recently became a regular in the back end of the Miami's rotation with more than five minutes of playing time in the past six games. ... Heat F Justise Winslow, who missed the game because of a sprained ankle, also warmed up. ... F Dorell Wright, who played in China this season and signed with the Heat on Tuesday, was available again against the Celtics. He was with the Heat but did not play in Detroit on Tuesday. ... Celtics co-owners Wyc Grousbeck, Steve Pagliuca and Robert Epstein presented the Red Auerbach Award to G Isaiah Thomas, who led the team in scoring at 22.2 points per game. The award is given to the "Celtics player who best exemplifies the spirit of what it means to be a true Celtic through performance on the court and off." ... For the second time in Heat history, they have four players with 1,000 points in one season: G Dwayne Wade (1,392), C Hassan Whiteside (1,021), F Chris Bosh 1,010 and G Goran Dragic (1,000). The only other time was the 2000-01 season when F Anthony Mason (1,290), F Brian Grant (1,250), G Tim Hardaway (1,150) and G Eddie Jones (1,094) did it.