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Heat-Celtics: 56k | 300k 
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The win, coupled with Milwaukee's loss at Cleveland, pulled the Heat (41-40) into a tie with the Bucks for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with one game left. Milwaukee holds the tiebreaker edge, having won of three games against the Heat.
"It's a great accomplishment, knowing we can't finish under .500," Miami coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We got the effort we were looking for tonight. I'm real proud of the guys."
Miami appeared buried after dropping to 5-15 following a loss to San Antonio on Dec. 26. But the Heat have gone 36-25 in their last 61 games.
"The home court would be huge for us," Miami forward Samaki Walker said. "We definitely play a lot better at home, but at the same time we need to know how to win on the road."
Ricky Davis scored 25 points for the Celtics, who suffered their fifth straight loss and could tie the NBA mark for consecutive defeats at the end of the season for a team heading to the playoffs. Golden State lost its last six games in 1988-89.
Boston (35-46), locked into a first-round meeting with top-seeded Indiana, played without Paul Pierce, who is nursing a right ankle sprain.
"It's tough playing without Paul, but Ricky stepped up and we had a chance," Celtics center Mark Blount said. "The effort was there, but Miami just made more plays."
The Heat overcame 38 percent shooting (31-of-82) and 29 turnovers in a sloppy affair. Both teams shot poorly in the first half, with Miami holding a 36-33 lead at the intermission.
The Heat opened a 58-50 lead on rookie Dwyane Wade's jumper with 3:01 remaining in the third quarter. The Celtics closed within one on four occasions early in the fourth quarter but never got the lead.
"We are on the road against a playoff team," Wade said. "It's games like this we have to win. Every game is not going to be pretty."
After Davis' layup pulled Boston within 71-70 with 5:37 left, Odom and Wade made baskets to give Miami a 75-70 lead. The Heat stretched their advantage to 83-75 on a 3-pointer with 33 seconds remaining by Rafer Alston, who contributed 15 points.
"We didn't take them (Celtics) seriously enough to start but we played hard," Van Gunday added.
Jiri Welsch scored 11 points and Blount and Chucky Atkins added 10 apiece for the Celtics.