Jayson Tatum reacts after receiving a technical foul during the second half of Wednesday’s game at TD Garden.
Jayson Tatum reacts after receiving a technical foul during the second half of Wednesday’s game at TD Garden.Erin Clark/Globe Staff
For a moment, with TD Garden shaking and the Celtics surging, it looked as if the team’s nine-game winning streak would last for at least one more game. Boston needed less than five minutes to slice a 22-point deficit to 3, and the rest seemed inevitable.
But the Heat, who are still battling for position in the play-in tournament, had some say and eventually pushed the Celtics back before securing a 124-103 win, their sixth in a row.
Jaylen Brown had 24 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Celtics. Jayson Tatum struggled through a 4-for-17 shooting night and had 16 points. The Celtics were without Kristaps Porzingis (rest), Jrue Holiday (shoulder) and Al Horford (toe).
Tyler Herro scored 25 points to lead the Heat, who shot 51.8 percent from the field.
Luke Kornet (14 points) started at center with Horford and Porzingis out and gave the Celtics a lift in the opening quarter. He and Tatum have developed a strong connection and Tatum assisted on two Kornet baskets inside before Derrick White found him on an alley-oop.
Kornet then cleaned things up under the basket, ending a trip with four Celtics offensive rebounds by converting a tip-in. He had 10 points in the first half but was limited to 10 minutes because of foul trouble. The Celtics’ work on the offensive glass kept them within reach early, with 16 of their first 31 points coming on second chances.
But the Heat pushed in front and took a 25-17 lead with a 9-0 burst that was highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers by Haywood Highsmith and Kyle Anderson. And at the other end, Tatum simply could not get untracked.
He was just 1 for 8 from the field in the first half, 0 for 4 from two-point range, and late in the second quarter he passed up a few open shots, seemingly aware of his mild struggles. As a team, the Celtics were just 3 for 18 from beyond the arc in the opening half, while the Heat went 5 for 12.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla appeared to be trying to create a spark when he was whistled for a technical foul midway through the second quarter after Brown tumbled to the ground without a foul being called. Mazzulla continued to voice his frustrations and had to be held back by Boston’s bench, but he was not ejected.
After the Celtics pulled within 54-45 with four Tatum free throws, Herro rushed upcourt and got a layup with 29 seconds left to set up a two-for-one, and after a Tatum missed layup the Heat cashed in when Herro found Highsmith in the left corner for a 3-pointer that made it 59-45 at the break.
The Celtics made nine free throws over the final 4:44 of the half, but did not convert a field goal during that time.
Mazzulla started the third quarter by replacing Kornet with forward Torrey Craig, but the small-ball lineup caused no problems for the Heat, who mostly got to the rim as they pleased, with dunks by Pelle Larsson and Kel’el Ware helping them surge to a 71-49 lead, their largest.
Kornet returned soon after that, and that is about when Boston’s fortunes changed. The Celtics made just three 3-pointers over the first 28 minutes of the game but suddenly caught fire, connecting on six over a four-minute span to put a jolt into the Garden crowd.
A 3-pointer by Baylor Scheierman with 4:28 left capped the Celtics’ 25-6 run and pulled them within 77-74 before the Heat stretched their lead back to 10 by the start of the fourth.
A Sam Hauser 3-pointer followed by a Neemias Queta 3-point play briefly sliced Boston’s deficit to 91-87. But the Heat punched back when needed, with consecutive 3-pointers by Larsson and Davion Mitchell making it 111-96 at the 5:02 mark.
Mazzulla called timeout and inserted his backups, an early surrender in most instances, but a logical one considering Boston is all but locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.