Heat falls to ninth in East after home loss to Celtics
A win Wednesday would have pushed the Heat all the way up to sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Instead, the Heat (38-40) finds itself outside of the playoffs at the moment after a 112-102 loss to the Celtics on Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. The Celtics (47-32) completed the sweep of the home-and-home set, following up Monday’s 110-105 win over the Heat in Boston with a victory in Miami.
With a win from the Magic and losses from the Pistons and Nets on Wednesday, the Heat ended the day as the East’s ninth-place team. Miami is one-half game behind No. 8 Orlando and No. 7 Brooklyn, and one game behind No. 6 Detroit.
While the Celtics led for most of the game, it was close for most of the night. The score was tied at 83 with 11:48 remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Celtics used a 23-13 run to build a 10-point lead with 2:50 to play and never looked back.
Miami used its 2-3 zone defense for most of the game, and Boston was prepared for it. The Celtics shot 47.5 percent, and Gordon Hayward (25 points) and Kyrie Irving (23 points) combined for 48 points and nine assists.
Dion Waiters led the Heat with a team-high 21 points on 8-of-22 shooting from the field and 5-of-13 shooting on threes. Hassan Whiteside finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Dwyane Wade contributed 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Wednesday night started with some good news, with Justise Winslow, Rodney McGruder and Josh Richardson returning from injury.
Winslow finished with four points on 2-of-8 shooting in 23 minutes. McGruder ended the night scoreless in 10 minutes.
Richardson was in the starting lineup after missing the previous three games with a bruised left heel, and he finished with seven points, two assists and two steals in 16 minutes. But he exited the game with eight minutes remaining in the third quarter and didn’t return after suffering a left leg injury while trying to block a Kyrie Irving layup.
The Heat now hits the road again for a two-game trip that begins Friday against the Timberwolves. Only four games remain on Miami’s regular-season schedule.
This story was originally published April 3, 2019 at 10:13 PM.
