The Los Angeles Clippers could afford a spell of missing 14 consecutive shots on Sunday and still beat Miami 100-93 in their NBA showdown.
The Clippers moved four games clear of Memphis in the fight for fourth place in the Western Conference, behind the three runaway divisional leaders.
Also on Sunday, Boston made it nine wins from 10 games by defeating Sacramento.
Los Angeles' Chris Paul had a game-high 22 points and Jamal Crawford added 20 off the bench for the Clippers, who had their poor shooting spell in the first quarter. Paul started with none from nine but his two late three-pointers sealed the game.
Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic all scored 17 points for the Heat, who slipped 1-1/2 games behind Boston in the battle for fourth in the East.
The Celtics widened that gap by holding off Sacramento and winning 128-119.
Avery Bradley scored 25 points and Isiah Thomas had 22 for Boston, who committed a season-high 24 turnovers but shot 56 per cent.
DeMarcus Cousins' 31 points led Sacramento, who have lost seven of eight.
Orlando's Nik Vucevic hit an 18-footer at the buzzer to give the Magic a 96-94 win against Atlanta, who did not score in the last 3:41.
Denver rookie Emmanuel Mudiay scored nine of his 15 points during a decisive fourth-quarter run, and the Nuggets beat fading New York 101-96, inflicting a ninth loss in 10 games on the Knicks.
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