The Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics, 130-124, at TD Garden on Sunday afternoon.

The Heat (37-31) got off to an impressive start Sunday against the Celtics (35-33) and their performance over their first 12 minutes was enough to seal them the victory here. Miami outscored Boston by a 36-23 score in the first 12 minutes and they managed to control the game the rest of the way, bolstering their lead even further following a 43-30 score in the second half; this means they had a 26-point edge by halftime. The Celtics looked far better in the second half and led the third quarter by a 31-26 score and even sniffed the chance of a comeback after defeating Miami by a 40-25 score in the final 12 minutes. However, that was not enough to complete the comeback and the Heat ended winning despite slowing things down in the second half.

Jimmy Butler led the Heat in this victory with a double-double of 26 points and 11 assists -- he also notched eight rebounds and two steals. Duncan Robinson had 22 points, while Kendrick Nunn delivered 12 points, two rebounds and two assists. Bam Adebayo posted 20 points and also added six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Trevor Ariza had 19 points. Tyler Herro notched 12 points off the bench.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics after putting up 29 points -- he also added six assists, five rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Evan Fournier had 30 points and eight assists, while Kemba Walker notched 18 points, two steals, two boards and six assists. Marcus Smart delivered 16 points while adding four assists, two steals and two rebounds. Aaron Nesmith ended with 16 points off the bench.