MANILA – Miami Heat nearly wasted a 26-point lead before escaping with a 130-124 victory over Boston Celtics in the 2020-2021 National Basketball Association (NBA) Season on Sunday night at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Jimmy Butler finished with double-double 26 points and 11 assists, while Duncan Robinson drained six triples to add 22 markers for the Heat, moving them up to sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 37-31 slate.
Bam Adebayo and Trevor Ariza contributed 20 and 19 markers, respectively, while Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro each had 12 markers for Miami.
Holding to its largest lead of 79-53 in the first half, the Heat suddenly saw its advantage trimmed to 107-113 by the Celtics furious second half uprising.
The Heat, however, restored order, with Butler’s three-pointer and Adebayo’s consecutive inside hits, making for a 123-112 edge. The Celtics made a last rally but could only come to as close as six points.
Evan Fournier tallied 30 points while Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker added 29 and 18 markers, respectively, as the Celtics dropped third of its last four games for a 35-33 slate.
Meanwhile, New York Knicks (38-30) showed steadiness in the endgame as they prevailed over Los Aneles Clippers (45-23), 106-100, and snapped its two-game losing skid.
Just ahead 56-54 after two quarters, the Knicks set the tone in the third quarter behind RJ Barrett, Reggie Bullock and Julius Randle to build an 86-76 advantage.
The Clippers, however, remained within striking distance and was able to come to as close as six points several times, but baskets from Randle and free throws by Bullock and Taj Gibson sealed the win for the Knicks.
Rose spearheaded the attack with 25 points, Bullock and Barrett added 24 and 18 markers, respectively, while Randle had double-double 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks.
BOX SCORE:
MIAMI 130 – Butler 26, Robinson 22, Adebayo 20, Ariza 19, Nunn 12, Herro 12, Dragić 9, Dedmon 6, Iguodala 4.
BOSTON 124 – Fournier 30, Tatum 29, Walker 18, Smart 16, Nesmith 16, Edwards 5, R. Williams 4, Thompson 2, Kornet 2, G. Williams 2, Pritchard 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
36-23, 79-53, 105-84, 130-124./PN
