MIAMI - The Boston Celtics took the Miami Heat apart surgically on Monday night, removing rival center Hassan Whiteside and inserting offense.
Whiteside, who leads the NBA in blocked shots and has been dominating inside for most of the season, was a nonfactor as he was held to six points and eight rebounds.
The result was a 105-95 Boston victory at AmericanAirlines Arena. And Celtics guard Avery Bradley, who had a team-high 25 points, said Boston had a strategy for Whiteside.
"It was a mix of things ... us being smart about it," said Bradley, who was two points off his season high. "We know he is a great shot blocker. Our main thing was driving and kicking, and that's what we did."
Boston did more than that.
The Celtics systematically took out Whiteside by having their big guys -- particularly Amir Johnson (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Jared Sullinger (17 points) -- shoot from distance, drawing the Heat center out of his comfort zone.
Whiteside played just 12 first-half minutes after drawing three fouls. Whiteside had no blocks in the first half when Boston shot 59.5 percent.
Boston led 57-51 at the half.
In the second half, Whiteside had three blocked shots, and Boston was held to 37.2 percent shooting. But the Celtics did just enough to hang on.
"They did a great job of understanding that Hassan is a big who stays in the paint," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said.
Added Whiteside: "Just look at the scouting report and see how many blocked shots I average. That's on the scouting report. Every night, teams are going to try their best to negate that."
Wade and forward Chris Bosh were the Heat bright spots. They combined to score all but two of Miami's fourth-quarter points.
Bosh, who had 10 rebounds, had 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter. Wade had eight of his season-high 30 points in the fourth. The only other Miami player to score in the fourth quarter was small forward Gerald Green, who made two inconsequential free throws with 29.2 seconds left.
"Our offense was inefficient down the stretch," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
The Celtics, winners of three of their past four games, improved to 10-8.
Miami (10-6), which fell to 8-3 at home, got little help from starting point guard Goran Dragic, who was held to nine points. In addition, Wade, who had five steals, had a season-high six turnovers.
Boston shot 66.7 percent from the floor in the first quarter, which fueled a 19-4 Celtics run. That helped the Celtics wipe out a six-point deficit, ending the quarter with a 32-23 lead.
Heat reserve guard Tyler Johnson was the first-half shooting star, making all four of his shots, including two 3-pointers, for 10 points. But Johnson did not score after that, taking just one shot after the first half.
Boston surged ahead by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, but Miami battled back to a standstill for the period. Wade and Bradley each had 12 points in the quarter.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens said Bradley has been solid all season. Against Miami, Bradley made nine of 15 shots from the floor, including three of six on 3-pointers. He also made four of four on free throws.
"He's been pretty consistent," Stevens said. "He hit shots when we needed them most tonight. It settled us down when things weren't going our way, and this place was rocking."
Another factor in Boston's win was its defense, which came up with 15 steals, six more than the Heat. Forward Jae Crowder had four steals, and Bradley and guard Evan Turner had three each.
"Avery played some great defense, and it deflates the other team," Turner said. "It deflated the crowd as well.
"I just tried to be in the right position, play great help-side defense and just limit whoever I was guarding."
NOTES: Heat F Chris Bosh started despite battling the flu. "Guys are getting flu shots, taking care of themselves and washing their hands," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the flu bug hitting the team. "Every team goes through it. You take whatever measures you can, but things happen." ... Heat SF Luol Deng (strained left hamstring) missed his third straight game. He is due to return Thursday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. ... SF Gerald Green started in place of Deng for the third straight time. ... Miami recalled F Jarnell Stokes from Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League on Sunday. ... The game marked Boston's only visit to Miami this season. ... Celtics G Marcus Smart (knee) is out until late December.
