BOSTON – The last time these teams met, the Miami Heat coughed up a 19-point lead in a loss to the Boston Celtics.
So this time, Erik Spoelstra’s team gave itself more of a buffer, going up 22 in the first half on Friday night in Boston.
It needed all of it.
And, in the end, even more.
With another third-quarter collapse ultimately making it the biggest of blown nights, the Heat again blew a massive lead to the Celtics, this time falling 98-96 Friday night at TD Garden at the start of a two-game trip that concludes Sunday against the Washington Wizards.
So, nothing accomplished at an idle Thursday NBA trading deadline.
Followed by additional questions of where this all is headed, the Heat now 27-26.
With Norman Powell and Andrew Wiggins back from absences but Tyler Herro still out, the Heat this time also had to try to withstand the second-half absence of Pelle Larsson, ultimately unable.
Larsson was sidelined with an elbow contusion after taking a blow from Jaylen Brown, with Herro away from the team with his rib injury.
The Heat got 26 points from Andrew Wiggins, 24 from Norman Powell and 16 from Bam Adebayo. Brown led the Celtics with 29.
Five Degrees of Heat from Friday night’s game:
1. Game flow: The Heat went up 19 early, taking a 29-15 lead into the second period. They then stretched their lead to 22 in the second period before taking a 59-38 advantage into halftime.
The Celtics were 1 of 20 on 3-pointers in the first half, with the lone conversion from Baylor Scheierman.
And then came the third quarter, the Heat’s period of downfall this season, with Boston finding its 3-point game and leaving it tied 74-74 going into the fourth – a 36-15 scoring edge in the period.
Spoelstra’s closing point during his morning media session at the gameday shootaround had been consistency.
“Having more consistent quarters all the way throughout the game,” he said. “First quarter, second quarter and then this third quarter that we have to do a much better job with.”
2. Closing time: The Celtics then went up five early in the fourth, before the Heat tied it 82-82.
After the Celtics scored the next four points, the Heat made a stand, going up 89-88 with 6:06 to play.
Both offenses stalled at that point, before a Wiggins 3-pointer gave the Heat a 94-91 lead with 3:58 to go.
Later, at 3 of 10 on 3-pointers to that stage, Derrick White converted from beyond the arc for a 98-96 Celtics lead with 1:31 left.
With 40.2 seconds left, the Celtics then unsuccessfully challenged an offensive foul call against Brown, leaving the score at 98-96.
Heat guard Davion Mitchell then was stopped on a drive on one end, with the Heat forcing a Celtics miss on the other.
That left the Heat in possession with 8 seconds remaining down two, with an errant Mitchell 43-point attempt sealing the misery.
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3. Powell back: After missing the previous three games for the birth of his daughter, Powell marked his return by converting a 3-pointer on the game’s first shot attempt.
Powell was up to 15 points by the intermission, in his first action since being named an All-Star for the first time in his 11-season career.
He then left early in the third quarter for apparent treatment on his hand, before returning later in the period.
Powell closed 9 of 15 from the field.
4. Still valued: The Heat made clear through inaction at Thursday’s NBA trade deadline that Wiggins was considered a valued connector to the balance of the roster.
Wiggins then connected on plenty in the first half, with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting over the opening two periods, including 3 of 4 on 3-pointers.
Wiggins sat out the Heat’s previous game with what was listed as hamstring tightness, Tuesday night’s home loss to the Atlanta Hawks, raising question about whether a trade was next. Instead, the next personnel decision with Wiggins will be his $30.2 million player option for next season.
5. Down goes Larsson: This time a blow to the face was more than cursory for Larsson, with an elbow from Jaylen Brown in the second quarter putting Larsson down and taking him off the court for the second half.
It turned out that even with a bloodied face, it was an elbow contusion that had Larsson out,
Simone Fontecchio started the second half for Larsson, with Myron Gardner then entering moments later in place of Fontecchio, in Garnder’s first action of the night.
Larsson wound up playing 12 scoreless minutes, without a shot, closing with five rebounds and three assists.
