Celtics Wrap: Shorthanded Boston Coughs Up Late Lead In Loss To Heat

The Boston Celtics squandered a fourth-quarter lead and fell to the Miami Heat, 98-95, at Miami-Dade Arena on Tuesday night.

With a second straight loss, the Celtics fell to 35-14 while the Heat improved to 27-22.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Celtics, who were without three starters in Marcus Smart, Al Horford and Jaylen Brown while also missing sixth man Malcolm Brogdon, seemed on their way to one of their better wins of the season just over three minutes into the final frame.

But even though they were shorthanded, it turned into another frustrating defeat as a 10-point lead evaporated due to a 15-0 run by the Heat, who were without their star in Jimmy Butler.

The Celtics still showed some fight after that, but they were clearly fatigued on the second night of a back-to-back and down so many players. Jayson Tatum and Derrick White carried the Celtics most of the night, but ran out of gas in the fourth quarter as they combined for only three points in the stanza.

And it sure didn’t help matters that Tatum made a boneheaded play with a chance to level the score in the final seconds when his cross-court pass got intercepted by Tyler Herro.

The Celtics, who lost for the first time this season on the second leg of a back-to-back, could have come away with an exhilarating win that showcased their depth, instead they leave Florida with more questions than answers.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Bam Adebayo propelled the Heat as he tallied a monster double-double of 30 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.

— White certainly stepped up — at least for three quarters — as he netted 23 points on 7-for-17 shooting. It was just the third time this season White has scored over 20 points. He also recorded six assists and three rebounds.

— Tatum’s turnover with one second left doesn’t take away all that he did in the contest. Tatum flirted with a triple-double by netting 31 points to go along with 14 rebounds and seven assists.

WAGER WATCH
DraftKings Sportsbook set White’s over/under for points at 13.5 and he easily eclipsed that mark by shouldering more of an offensive load. With -105 odds on the Over, a $100 wager on this prop bet would have netted a total of $195.24.

UP NEXT
The Celtics return home to TD Garden on Thursday night to take on the rival New York Knicks. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.