The Boston Celtics rallied from a 22-point deficit to edge 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 three-pointer from the corner with 1:31 remaining that provided the Celtics.
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 win it in regulation, but Davion Mitchell missed a three-pointer from the corner with 2.7 seconds remaining.
Andrew Wiggins led the Heat with 26 points while All-Star Norman Powell had 24 points, but not enough to sustain their lead.
Miami jumped out to a 15-2 lead and led by as many as 22 points before pulling into halftime up 59-38, as the Celtics shot just 28% during 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 a back-to-back three pointers, then Pritchard hit a three coming out of 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 snapped a 72-all score with 9.1 seconds left in the third, but Powell’s layup at the buzzer knotted it at 74-74 heading into the fourth.
The Celtics have now won all three meetings against the Heat.
Both teams will compete on Sunday: Miami at Washington, while Boston will host the Knicks.
