Anfernee Simons scored a season-high 39 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter, to lead the Boston Celtics to a 119-114 comeback win over the Miami Heat on Thursday at Kaseya Center. Jaylen Brown added 27 points and Sam Hauser contributed 17 as Boston erased a 19-point deficit.
The Celtics trailed most of the game, falling behind after Miami opened on a 28-9 run. Simons scored 11 consecutive Boston points in the fourth to cut into the Heat lead, and Hauser’s three-pointer with 5:21 remaining gave Boston its first lead since the opening minute.
Brown’s 3-pointer with 4:05 left put Boston ahead for good as the team outscored Miami 36-21 in the final frame. The win marked Boston’s second-biggest comeback of the season, after overcoming a 20-point deficit against Indiana on Dec. 22.
Miami received 26 points from Norman Powell, 22 each from Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, and 16 from Andrew Wiggins. The Heat were without starting point guard Davion Mitchell (left shoulder contusion) and sixth man Jaime Jaquez Jr. (left knee soreness).
Simons’ 39-point performance is the second highest by a reserve this season, trailing only Utah’s Brice Sensabaugh, who scored 43 on Wednesday. He became the fourth Celtics player in the last 50 years to score at least 39 off the bench, joining Larry Bird, Todd Day, and Payton Pritchard.
Boston shot 41-91 from the field (45%), 13-39 from three (33%), and 24-25 from the free-throw line (96%). Miami finished 39-87 overall (45%), 15-42 on threes (36%), and 21-27 at the line (78%). Turnovers and missed opportunities in the fourth allowed Boston to complete the comeback.
The win improves Boston to 25-15, keeping them in second place in the Eastern Conference, four-and-a-half games behind the Detroit Pistons. Miami falls to 21-20, ninth in the East, and will look to bounce back when hosting Oklahoma City on Saturday. The Celtics travel to Atlanta on the same night.
