MIAMI _ As much as anything, this 109-101 loss Tuesday night to the Boston Celtics was a reminder.
No, not of what now is a 3-6 Miami Heat record on the second nights of back-to-back games this season.
Nor of there now being two losses in the last three home games after near invincibility previously at AmericanAirlines Arena.
But rather a reminder of what eventually is to follow, games with this type of intensity in a best-of-seven playoff format.
Counterpunching most of the way before running out of gas late, the Heat fell in what well could be a postseason preview, potentially in the first round, both teams likely to finish anywhere from No. 2 to No. 6 in the uber-competitive Eastern Conference playoff race behind the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Heat fell behind by 13 early and then trailed 36-29 at the end of the opening period, 53-48 at halftime and 80-76 going into the fourth quarter.
From there, a Marcus Smart 3-pointer put the Celtics up 92-81 with 7:39 to play.
That's when Jimmy Butler scored five straight points to bring the Heat within 92-86, before a 3-pointer by the Celtics' Kemba Walker muted that rally, on a night the Heat closed at .371 from the field.
Guard Goran Dragic led the Heat with 23 points, with Butler adding 20 and Bam Adebayo closing with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Gordon Hayward led the Celtics with 29 points, supported by 25 from Jaylen Brown, with the Celtics playing in the injury absence of Jayson Tatum.
A night after Adebayo closed with his third career triple-double, one that included 10 assists, this time there was one for the Heat center, coming with 22 seconds to play.
The Celtics entered fourth in the league in defensive rating and forced Adebayo to play more as scorer.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra such instances are all is part of a learning curve.
"The more experience that he's getting, the more confidence, all of these things are creating a different player," he said. "That's the most important thing. He's a winning player, but even where he is right now, I believe he'll be a different player by the end of the season, March and April, to prepare for the playoffs, the way he's progressing right now."
After yielding 36 first-quarter points, the Heat made extensive use of their zone in limiting Boston to a 17 in the second period. The alignment was particularly effective and disruptive with Derrick Jones Jr. and Butler at the top.
In fact, after Adebayo was called for his third foul midway through the second period, Spoelstra elected to insert Chris Silva instead of Kelly Olynyk, with Silva more active in the defensive alignment.
The Heat were without Kendrick Nunn for a third consecutive game due to a sore Achilles.
Tyler Herro again started in place of Nunn, who now can take advantage of the Heat being idle until a Saturday game in Orlando.
"He's doing a ton of treatment and a little bit of activity," Spoelstra said. "This'll be a good stretch coming up."
Dion Waiters (11 points) made his third consecutive appearance after being held out of the season's first 44 games.
This time he played as the Heat's fourth reserve, behind, in order, James Johnson, Dragic and Jones.
As was the case with a productive opening stint Monday against the Magic, Waiters again sparked the Heat in the second period, this time with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting that included a pair of 3-pointers.
Waiters stood 2 of 3 from beyond the arc at the half, with the rest of his teammates 2 of 13 over the opening two periods.
Unlike Monday, Waiters also was given second-half minutes.
Of how he is utilizing Waiters, Spoelstra said. "Everybody be available, play your minutes hard, contribute. It's a pretty simple formula."
Although not as pronounced as during Monday night's game, there were several tributes for Kobe Bryant, from the anthem singer performing in his memory, to lit signage atop the basketball stanchions with the numbers "8" and "24" illuminated in purple and gold, to the coaching staffs, as was the case league wide, working in signature Bryant foot ware.
