Reserve Anfernee Simons scored 18 of his season-high 39 points in the fourth quarter as the Boston Celtics rallied to defeat the host Miami Heat 119-114 on Thursday night.
Jaylen Brown, who had missed Boston’s previous game due to back spasms, added 27 points. He entered the night ranked sixth in the NBA with a 29.5 scoring average.
The Celtics, who broke a two-game losing streak, trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half, and they were down by 10 to start the fourth quarter.
Miami got 26 points from Norman Powell and 22 from Tyler Herro. Bam Adebayo also had 22 points, but he had just five in the second half.
Miami is 0-2 against Boston this season.
The Heat played without starting point guard Davion Mitchell (shoulder injury) and wing Jaime Jaquez Jr. (knee). Mitchell leads the Heat in assists (7.3); and Jaquez (15.9 points, 4.6 assists) is a frontrunner for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.
Miami, thanks to 15 straight points, got off to an 18-4 start, and the Heat led 36-25 after the first quarter. Simons kept Boston close with a first-quarter-high 11 points.
In the second quarter, Boston cut its deficit to 38-34 before Miami reasserted itself and went into halftime with a 64-54 advantage.
For the first half, Miami had a 15-0 edge in fast-break points, shooting 51.1% from the floor and 10-for-23 on 3-pointers. Boston shot 42.2% overall and 7-for-20 from deep.
Boston rallied again in the third, cutting its deficit to 72-66. But, by the end of the quarter, Miami had retained its 10-point lead at 93-83.
In the fourth quarter, Boston did it again, slicing its margin to 100-98 with 5:51 remaining. Simons, who had scored 11 straight Boston points, then got double-teamed and dished to Sam Hauser for a three-pointer that put the Celtics ahead 101-100 with 5:21 left. It was Boston’s first lead since the first quarter.
Brown’s 3-pointer with 4:05 left gave Boston the lead for good, 107-105.
For the game, Boston outrebounded Miami 51-40, including 18-12 on the offensive glass.
