MIAMI — Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson suffered injuries Sunday as the Miami Heat dropped a 110-106 decision to the Boston Celtics.
Rozier, who finished with 13 points, landed awkwardly on his right leg after driving to the basket midway through the third quarter. Both players will have MRI exams Monday, coach Erik Spoelstra said.
The Heat were already without star forward Jimmy Butler, who was ruled out earlier in the day because of personal reasons as he “deals with the death of a family member,” according to a statement the Heat provided via Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee.
“It’s tough to see guys like that go down,” Miami’s Duncan Robinson said. “And then Jimmy dealing with what he’s dealing with is unfortunate, to put it lightly.”
Richardson exited in the second quarter because of a right shoulder injury. He slumped to the floor in pain after his unsuccessful attempt to strip Jayson Tatum of the ball.
“I felt my shoulder pop out on the floor and then it popped back in laying on the ground, so thank goodness for that,” Richardson said. “I’ll know more tomorrow.”
Robinson also favored his left shoulder after Brown pushed him off into the stands when both tangled for position early in the fourth quarter. Brown and Robinson exchanged words and Brown was assessed a flagrant foul 1.
“I just thought it was a dirty play, to be honest with you. … Just thought it was dangerous, unnecessary and excessive,” Robinson said.
Jayson Tatum had 26 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists for the Boston Celtics, who withstood a late rally from the hosts.
Kristaps Porzingis had 25 points, Jaylen Brown had 20 and Jrue Holiday scored 15 for Boston, which hit 16 of 39 3-point attempts.
The Celtics have won all three matchups with the Heat this season and have won six of the past seven games against them. The loss came in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals last season, when Boston forced the deciding game after losing the first three.
“Late-game execution, you’ve got to set the table,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I think our guys did that.”
Tyler Herro had 22 of his 24 points in the second half, Bam Adebayo scored 22 and Robinson and Caleb Martin finished with 15 points each for the Heat.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared on ESPN
