Takeaways from rough day for Heat that included a loss to Celtics, injuries and a ‘dirty play’

It wasn’t nearly as lopsided as last month’s matchup against the Boston Celtics in Miami, but it still ended in a loss.

After losing to the Celtics in a 33-point rout at home less than three weeks ago, the Heat (28-25) fell to the Celtics 110-106 in a game that came down to the final seconds on Sunday afternoon at Kaseya Center. Miami closed its four-game homestand at 2-2.

The result also clinched the Celtics’ 3-0 sweep of the regular-season series against the Heat just months after the Heat ended the Celtics’ season in the Eastern Conference finals last year. Boston holds the NBA’s best record this season at 41-12.

It could end up as a costly loss, too, with the Heat losing guards Josh Richardson and Terry Rozier to injuries on Sunday. Richardson (right shoulder injury) and Rozier (right knee injury) left the game early and did not return, and both players will undergo MRIs on Monday.

Already playing without Jimmy Butler because of personal reasons, the short-handed Heat put together a strong effort to remain within striking distance most of the way despite the Celtics pulling ahead by as many as 15 points early in the second half.

But after Tyler Herro hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to two with 1:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Heat could not complete the comeback.

After getting a defensive stop on the next Celtics possession, Heat forward Haywood Highsmith missed what would have been a go-ahead three-pointer. The Celtics then extended its lead to four on two free throws from center Kristaps Porzingis with one minute to play.

Heat center Bam Adebayo then missed a 14-foot jumper and the Celtics pushed their lead to six on two game-clinching free throws from Jayson Tatum with 14.6 seconds left.

“I thought our group showed a tremendous amount of grit in that second half,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “There were a lot of things that weren’t necessarily going our way, including the injuries and then down 10. To really claw and fight back and get this game on the ropes, I think it was a credit to how hard our guys were playing. Then sometimes, it ends up being make or miss down the stretch.”

The Heat kept it close behind 14 offensive rebounds that resulted in 23 second-chance points, but it just didn’t make enough shots to defeat the Celtics. The Heat shot just 41.2 percent from the field and 12 of 40 (30 percent) from three-point range in the loss.

Herro led the Heat with 24 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field and 4-of-12 shooting on threes, five rebounds and four assists.

Adebayo added 22 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field, 13 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.

For the Celtics, Tatum finished just short of a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Porzingis contributed 25 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks for the Celtics.

Next up for the Heat is a two-game trip that begins Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks. Those will be the Heat’s final two games before next week’s All-Star break.

Here are five takeaways from the Heat’s loss to the Celtics on Sunday:

The Heat was missing its best player on Sunday.

Butler did not play against the Celtics. He’s away from the team after being granted a leave of absence following a death in his family.

“Jimmy Butler has been granted a leave of absence as he deals with the death of a family member,” Butler’s agent Bernie Lee said in a statement issued by the Heat prior to Sunday’s game. “Jimmy and his family ask for privacy at this point in time as they navigate this loss. Updates will be given when appropriate.”

With the Heat coming off a three-day break following Wednesday’s win over the San Antonio Spurs, he also missed practice on Friday and Saturday with excused absences.

It marks the first game that Butler has missed since Jan. 14, ending a string of 13 consecutive games played. It marks the 16th game that Butler has missed this season.

Butler, 34, is averaging 21.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 50 percent from the field and 44 percent on threes this season. He scored more than 20 points in six of the previous seven games before missing Sunday’s loss.

Following Sunday’s matchup against the Celtics, the Heat has two games left to play before the All-Star break. Miami closes the pre-break schedule with a two-game trip that includes matchups against the Bucks on Tuesday and Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.

Butler’s status for that trip remains up in the air.

Along with Butler’s absence, the Heat is now dealing with new injuries to two rotation players.

Richardson and Rozier, two guards in the Heat’s rotation, both exited Sunday’s game early with injuries.

Richardson left early in the second quarter with a right shoulder injury and Rozier left midway through the third quarter with a right knee injury. Both players did not return to the game.

“More than anything, you just feel for those guys,” Spoelstra said. “They’re competitors, they want to be out there, they were trending in a much better direction.”

Richardson, who has been a fixture in the bench rotation, went down to the court and immediately grabbed his shoulder just a few minutes into the second quarter. It happened during a wild sequence that began when Richardson stole the ball from Tatum, only to have it stolen by Celtics guard Jrue Holiday one second later.

With Holiday hitting a three-pointer to end the possession, the Heat called timeout to stop play and attend to Richardson with nine minutes left in the second quarter.

Heat trainers, coaches and teammates immediately rushed over to Richardson, who was helped up before walking straight to the locker room with trainers while grabbing his injured shoulder. X-rays on Richardson’s injured shoulder returned negative, with an MRI set for Monday.

“I felt my shoulder pop out on the floor and then pop back in when I was laying on the ground,” Richardson said after the game while wearing a sling. “So thank goodness for that. But I’ll know more tomorrow.”

Rozier, who has been a fixture in the Heat’s starting lineup since being traded to Miami in late January, went up for a layup and landed awkwardly on his right leg. With the Celtics committing a foul on the Rozier attempt near the rim, Heat coaches, players and trainers again rushed out to surround a writhing Rozier.

Rozier slowly got up and walked gingerly to the locker room with the assistance of Heat trainers. He’ll also undergo an MRI on Monday.

The possibility of playing without Richardson and Rozier for the foreseeable future will force changes to the Heat’s rotation.

Richardson had played more than 20 minutes in six straight games before leaving Sunday’s loss early and Rozier has logged more than 25 minutes in each of his first nine games with the Heat before exiting Sunday’s defeat early.

If out for extended stretches, those injuries would leave the Heat very thin at the guard position.

The Heat is already without guard Dru Smith, who is out for the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery in late December.

If the Heat is missing Richardson, Rozier and Smith, two-way contract player Alondes Williams is the only healthy traditional guard on the roster besides Herro.

The day also included a flagrant foul that raised the tension between the two teams.

If there wasn’t enough bad blood between these two franchises, the Heat and Celtics exchanged some words after Brown committed a flagrant 1 foul in the fourth quarter.

With Duncan Robinson trying to defend Brown in the post, Robinson was called for a foul after getting tangled up with Brown. But after the foul was called by the official, Brown pulled his arm away to try to get Robinson off of him and pulled Robinson’s arm in an awkward manner in the process.

Robinson went down in pain, but was able to remain in the game.

Robinson had some words for Brown, with the two needing to be separated by teammates and the officials right after the incident.

“I just thought it was a dirty play, to be honest with you,” Robinson said. “That’s how people miss entire seasons.”

When asked about his flagrant foul after the game, Brown said: “At the end of the day, you got to protect and own your space. I feel like Duncan Robinson knew what he was doing there, trying to get tangled up and trying to draw whatever he was trying to do. But I bet he won’t do it again.”

The play resulted in a five-point possession for the Heat, with Robinson hitting both free throws and Adebayo completing the three-point play on an and-one layup on the ensuing possession. The flagrant foul allowed the Heat to keep possession after Robinson’s free throws.

That sequence trimmed the Heat’s deficit from nine to four with 7:44 left in the fourth quarter, but the Celtics still held on for the win.

Without Butler, the Heat used another new starting lineup.

Rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. started in Butler’s place alongside the rest of the Heat’s preferred starting lineup of Rozier, Herro, Caleb Martin and Adebayo. It went down as the Heat’s 28th different starting lineup in the 53rd game of the season.

This new Heat starting lineup had played just seven minutes together before opening Sunday’s game.

But this starting unit kept things competitive to begin the game, with the Heat trailing 18-17 when it turned to its bench for the first time eight minutes into the opening quarter.

This lineup actually outscored the Celtics by one point in 14 minutes together on Sunday before Rozier left the game early with a knee injury.

Jaquez finished his 16th start of the season with six points, three rebounds and one assist in 29 minutes.

Sunday marked the Heat’s final home game for a while.

With the All-Star break standing in the middle of a string of six straight road games that begins Tuesday against the Bucks, the Heat’s next home game isn’t until a March 2 matchup against the Utah Jazz.

After the upcoming two-game trip to end the pre-break schedule, the Heat returns from the break to a four-game trip that takes the team west.

That four-game trip after the break includes matchups against the New Orleans Pelicans on Feb. 23, Sacramento Kings on Feb. 26, Portland Trail Blazers on Feb. 27 and Denver Nuggets on Feb. 29.

The Heat 15-13 at home and 13-12 on the road this season.

“Right now, we’re just locked in on these next two, Milwaukee and Philly before the break,” Herro said. “Those are two really important games for us and we want to go into that with pretty much a playoff mindset and get those two games.”