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Come Fan with UsSunday, June 21, 2026

Heat Vs. Celtics Final Score: Boston Bench And Paul Pierce Defeat Miami Bench, 78-66

With the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics' playoff position assured — the Heat will be the East's No. 2 seed, the Celtics the No. 4 but without home-court advantage over the No. 5 Atlanta Hawks — the stars of both teams, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett, took a seat to rest up for the playoffs. The only "star" in the lineup for either team was Paul Pierce, who played just 18 minutes, but helped lead the Celtics to a 78-66 victory.

Pierce scored eight points in his limited time on the floor. Brandon Bass and Avery Bradley — the younger starter for the C's — started as well. Bass had eight points and eight rebounds, but Sasha Pavlovic was the star (didn't expect to hear that, huh?), scoring 16 points on 7-10 shooting. Marquis Daniels, who has dropped completely from Doc Rivers' rotation, chipped in 13.

The Heat were without the Big Two Plus Bosh, and a lineup of Mario Chalmers, Mike Miller, Shane Battier, Udonis Haslem and Dexter Pittman, well, it's the kind that hangs 66 points on a Celtics team playing without KG and Rondo. Pittman actually led the team in scoring with 12 points, but had just four rebounds. Nice job by Erik Spoelstra resting his stars, sorry to fans who paid money to see this.

For complete coverage of the NBA leading up to the playoffs, stick with SB Nation’s NBA hub. For everything on Heat, check out Peninsula Is Mightier, and be sure to visit CelticsBlog and SB Nation Boston.

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