Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics Match Player Stats On Dec 20, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 20, 2017

BOSTON -- Former Celtic Kelly Olynyk celebrated his return to Boston with a career-high 32 points, and Kyrie Irving missed a jumper at the buzzer, allowing the undermanned Miami Heat to escape with a stunning 90-89 upset of the Celtics on Wednesday night.

Irving brought his team back from a late 11-point deficit and finished with 33 points. He had an open look and let it fly for the win after a timeout with 6.2 seconds left, but he missed for the 13th time in 24 shots on the night.

The Heat (16-15) were playing without four players, including Hassan Whiteside and Justise Winslow, and they fell behind by 12 in the first half. They led by 11 with 2:46 left, and Irving was responsible for all but one of the final 13 Boston points.

The win ended a four-game TD Garden losing streak for Miami and gave the Heat their second win in as many tries against Boston (26-8) this season.

Olynyk also grabbed seven rebounds, while Miami's Josh Richardson scored 19 points and had six assists and Dion Waiters scored 10. Jordan Mickey, also a former Celtic, came off the bench to contribute eight points and eight rebounds in the win.

Irving finished 3 of 9 from 3-point range and added five assists. Boston's Jaylen Brown scored 16 points, Marcus Smart 15 and Jayson Tatum 11.

Smart hit four 3-pointers late in the third quarter and into the fourth, while Tatum dislocated his right pinky in the first half but returned with it taped.

The Celtics led 32-20 in the second quarter and were ahead by eight at the half. The Heat didn't lead until they made their move in the third quarter, and they built the margin up to 12 points with 8:43 remaining.

NOTES: Miami coach Erik Spoelstra on his team's injuries, with 49 points, 25.4 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game missing: "This is a world we live in. Look around the league. It can be a lot worse. You have to deal with a lot of things in an 82-game season. Everybody goes through their moments at some point. We're going through ours right now. We're not making excuses for it." ... Heat F Kelly Olynyk, playing his first game back in Boston, was honored during the game, receiving the Celtics' nightly "Heroes Among Us" award for his charitable work. ... The Celtics visit the New York Knicks to complete their back-to-back Thursday, while the Heat open a four-game homestand against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.