MIAMI _ It wasn't a winning night Monday for the Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena. Those have been the exception this season.
But it was a fascinating one.
In the 112-104 loss to the Boston Celtics that dropped the Heat to 2-7 at home with a three-game western swing up next, the Heat:
_Saw a fan convert a 3-pointer while seated on a chair during a second-quarter timeout contest to win a Samsung tablet, while the Heat, given the liberty to both stand and jump, shot 0 for 12 from beyond the arc over the first two periods.
_Then scored 42 points in the third quarter, and still found themselves down 10 going into the fourth, the result of a 31 point-first half.
No, this assuredly was not a night to remember, except for said seated fan and those who only require of 12 minutes of breakthrough basketball by the home team.
So on a night the Heat played in the absences of Dion Waiters, Justise Winslow and Tyler Johnson, not even Goran Dragic's return from a two-game injury absence and Hassan Whiteside pushing through knee pain was enough.
Dragic led the Heat with a season-high 27 points and 16 assists, his high as a member of the Heat, with Whiteside adding 25 points and 17 rebounds.
Guard Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 25 points.
Waiters, who had appeared in every game until Monday, was out with the groin issue that has had him on the team's injury report for a week, with coach Erik Spoelstra referring to a "hip flexor." Waiters was coming off a season-high 28 point performance in Saturday night's loss to the visiting Memphis Grizzlies.
Tyler Johnson was out due to the dental issue he sustained in last week's road loss to the Detroit Pistons, with Monday the first game he missed this season. He played through his dental issue in two games after the incident at the Palace of Auburn Hills, including scoring 22 points in Friday's victory over the Grizzlies at FedExForum.
"He's getting a minor operation on his gums and tooth," said Spoelstra, who was uncertain when Johnson would return.
Monday's game marked the eighth consecutive absence for Winslow due to a sore left wrist. He last played Nov. 14 in a road loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
Then, of course, there is forward Chris Bosh, who has not been with the team since failing his preseason physical, after missing the second half of the past two seasons due to blood clots.
The Heat initially listed Whiteside and Dragic as questionable.
Whiteside was dealing with an issue with his left knee. He had an MRI on Monday that came back negative, avoiding his first absence of the season.
"It just was sore, so he ended up getting an MRI," Spoelstra said. "Everything was totally clear, and I think that cleared his mind."
Dragic missed the previous two games due to a sprained left elbow but was cleared to return Monday, recording his first double-digit assist game of the season.
Also back was guard Wayne Ellington, who had been sidelined with a bruised thigh since the final preseason game.
"Wayne, in particular, has been building for this for the last two weeks," Spoelstra said. "So he's ready. He's been doing a lot of conditioning. His strength is back up."
In addition, center Willie Reed was cleared to return after missing the previous four games with a hyper-extended right knee.
"Willie, thankfully the swelling was down after the first couple of days, and he was around-the-clock treatment, was able to start doing some work three days ago," Spoelstra said.
The Celtics also were shorthanded, with center Al Horford away from the team following the birth of his second child.
The Heat finally found their offense in that third period, with Josh Richardson ending the 0-for-14 Heat start on 3-pointers and Dragic beginning to play in lockstep with Whiteside, including three alley-oop assists. All three scored in double figures in the quarter.
But, all the while, the Celtics continued to convert 3-pointers, at 10 of 22 going into the fourth.
The Heat scored just 12 points in the second quarter, shooting 6 of 20, in falling behind 48-31 at the intermission.
Not only couldn't the Heat convert from beyond the arc in the first half, they also committed 11 turnovers over those first two periods.
No Heat player scored more than six points in the first half.
