BOSTON — The victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night brought relief because it snapped a four-game losing streak.
But Wednesday night’s 108-96 victory over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden delivered something far greater — hope of potential big things to come in the postseason.
In a game loaded with playoff intensity down to the final seconds, the Heat made a fourth-quarter stand to solidify their place atop the Eastern Conference and clinch a playoff berth.
The postseason berth was a given, based on what now is a 49-28 record for Erik Spoelstra’s team. But the victory moved the Heat a step closer to clinching the No. 1 overall seed in the East, now with five games remaining in the regular season.
The Heat found a way even with big nights from Boston’s leading men, with Jaylen Brown scoring 28 and Jayson Tatum 23.
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 24 points, with Kyle Lowry adding 23 points and 10 assists and Bam Adebayo 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
The Heat’s three-game trip doesn’t get much easier, with a Saturday game against the Chicago Bulls and a Sunday game against the Toronto Raptors.
Five Degrees of Heat from Wednesday’s game:
1. Closing time: A wild third quarter that featured a 10-0 Heat run followed by a 16-0 Celtics run ended with Boston up 83-79, with Boston closing the quarter on a 25-10 run.
The Heat later moved to a four-point lead midway through the fourth quarter on a Butler jumper, with a Butler transition dunk with 1:43 left giving the Heat a 102-96 lead.
A Tatum layup then brought the Celtics within 102-98, with a Heat 24-second violation following with 1:15 to play.
Then, with 33.6 seconds to play and the Heat up four, Tatum was called for a charge against Max Strus, with Boston challenging the call. The call stood, with the Celtics losing their final timeout.
With the Heat at 13 of 20 from the line to that stage, Adebayo then stepped to the line with 27.1 seconds to play and made only the first of two free throws, the Heat holding on from there.
2. Fill ‘er up: Adebayo was at his most versatile as he flirted with a triple-double, checking out in the third period with 11 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Adebayo then had to return with 7:43 to play, after Dewayne Dedmon fouled out in his 15 minutes.
His defense, more than his numbers, ultimately proved decisive, at the heart of several Heat late defensive stands.
3. Lowry for 3: Lowry continued his late-season uptick with his 3-point productivity, with this the sixth time in the last seven games he has converted at least three, after not doing so in his previous five appearances.
He closed 6 of 12 from beyond the arc.
Lowry’s seventh 3-point attempt moved him past Joe Johnson for 14th on the NBA all-time list.
4. Free passes: With scoring difficult enough against the Celtics defense, the Heat compounded their challenge with nine early turnovers that led to 13 Boston points at a stage the Heat only had 42.
Later, 22 of the Celtics first 77 point would come off the Heat’s first 14 turnovers, many leading to open-court scoring opportunities.
By the end, though, both teams finished with 18 turnovers.
5. Same again: Spoelstra stayed with the revamped rotation unveiled in Monday’s victory over the Sacramento Kings, with Strus starting in place of Duncan Robinson.
That had Robinson again playing in reserve, with Victor Oladipo and Markieff Morris shuffled out of the mix, their comebacks again put on hold.
