Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics Box Score on Mar 30, 2022

Jimmy Butler scored 24 points, and Kyle Lowry added 23 points as the Miami Heat defeated the host Boston Celtics, 106-98, on Wednesday night.

Bam Adebayo added 17 points and a team-high 12 rebounds as Miami outscored Boston 27-15 in the fourth quarter.

Miami (49-28) kept its narrow one-game lead in the Eastern Conference over the Milwaukee Bucks. Boston (47-30) and the Philadelphia 76ers both trail Miami by two games.

The Celtics, who still won the season series against Miami, 2-1, got 28 points, 10 rebounds and six assists from Jaylen Brown. Teammate Jayson Tatum added 23 points and six assists.

Also for Boston, Al Horford had a game-high 15 rebounds, and Marcus Smart had a team-high eight assists. Smart was ejected with 10.8 seconds left in the game.

Boston used a 9-0 run to end the first quarter with a 29-25 lead. That run was interrupted by Miami's Tyler Herro, who hit a 3-pointer at the quarter buzzer. The Celtics had an 8-0 advantage on points off turnovers, and they got 11 points from Brown.

Miami closed the second quarter on a 9-1 run, taking a 53-52 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, Miami stretched its lead to 69-58 with 7:51 left. But Boston responded with a 16-0 run and finished the quarter with an 83-79 advantage.

Miami fell behind 90-85 with 7:43 left in the fourth, but the Heat went on a 17-6 run to take control of the game with 1:43 left.

After a Tatum layup, Boston was trailing 102-98. Then, with 33.6 seconds left, Miami's Max Strus drew an offensive foul on Tatum. Boston challenged, but the call stood after a video review.

"It felt like a playoff game," Strus said after the game.

For the game, Miami shot 48.1 percent, including 13-for-34 on 3-pointers.

Boston outscored Miami in the paint, 48-34, but the Celtics shot just 41.2 percent from the floor, including 11-for-37 on 3-pointers.

--Field Level Media