The Boston Celtics recovered from a 22-point deficit to defeat the Miami Heat 98-96 on Friday night.
Jaylen Brown had 29 points, Payton Pritchard scored 24 points and Derrick White finished with 21 points, including a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:31 left that gave the Celtics the lead.
On the other hand, Nikola Vucevic had a double-double in his first game with the Celtics, finishing with 11 points and 12 rebounds as Boston made 9 of its final 15 shots from three after missing 20 of 21 from deep to start the game.
The Heat had a chance to get the win in regulation, but Davion Mitchell missed a three-pointer from the corner with 2.7 seconds left.
Andrew Wiggins led the Heat with 26 points, while All-Star Norman Powell had 24 points, but not enough to maintain their lead.
Miami jumped out to a 15-2 lead and led by as many as 22 points before going into halftime down 59-38, while the Celtics shot just 28% through the first two quarters, but things changed in the third quarter.
The Heat led 67-49, but the Celtics rallied to take a 25-7 lead over the final 7:06 of the third quarter.
White and Pritchard started the comeback with back-to-back three-pointers, then Pritchard hit a three after a timeout that cut Miami’s lead to 67-58.
White gave Boston its first lead of the game when he knocked down two free throws that made it 72-all with 9.1 seconds left in the third, but Powell’s layup at the buzzer made it 74-74 heading into the fourth.
The Celtics have now won all three meetings against the Heat.
Both teams compete Sunday: Miami vs. Washington, while Boston hosts the Knicks.
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