After trailing the entire game, the Boston Celtics had cut the Miami Heat’s lead to four with about four minutes to go. Brad Wanamaker missed a driving layup, but Daniel Theis grabbed the ball while falling out of bounds and threw it off Duncan Robinson’s leg.
The referees ruled it Miami’s ball. The Celtics challenged and won.
And then Boston quickly turned it over.
That’s a summation of how the 112-106 loss to Miami went.
The Celtics would pull the deficit close, look like they were on the brink of getting the lead, and then Miami would take control again.
It happened midway through the third quarter, when the Celtics went on a 15-1 run to turn a double-digit deficit into just a one-point Miami lead. Then the Heat scored 14 of the next 17 points.
Boston had lost momentum as the third quarter drew to a close and was about to enter the fourth quarter down double-digits once again. But then point guard Kemba Walker made a half-court shot to end the quarter, giving the Celtics some life entering the final frame.
The Celtics slowly chipped into the lead, cutting that deficit to four points multiple times, but Miami would always pull ahead.
It looked over with less than a minute left, but Walker kept hope alive one more time. He drilled a 3 with 13 seconds left to make it a one-possession game.
Again the Celtics cut it close. Again Miami held them at arm’s length. The Heat remain within reach of the third seed, cutting Boston’s advantage in the standings to just 1.5 games. And they did it without Jimmy Butler, who was out with injury.
Boston’s struggles Tuesday largely came from shooting and fouling.
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The Celtics shot just 43.5% from the field and 30.3% from 3. Marcus Smart fouled out in just 15 minutes of play, and Jayson Tatum’s five fouls forced him to the bench more than head coach Brad Stevens would have liked.
And Miami center Bam Adebayo dominated.
He only made five field goals, but Adebayo had 18 free throw attempts, making 11 of them. He had a dozen rebounds to go with 21 points.
Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro lit the Celtics up from deep, making a combined eight 3-pointers, just two fewer than the Celtics made as a team.
Tatum had a game-high 23 points on 6-for-11 shooting, and Jaylen Brown had 18 points on 9-for-23 shooting.
Walker, on a 27-minute restriction, scored 15 points and made four 3s in 26 minutes.
The Celtics fought, but the fight wasn’t good enough to put distance between the third and fourth seed. They’ll take on the Brooklyn Nets next before playing the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
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