The Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics 106-98 at TD Garden on Wednesday, securing their second straight win after a four-game losing streak.

Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo racked up a combined 64 points, 15 rebounds and 18 assists for the Heat to win on Wednesday night. Lowry drained court-high six triples after shooting 50 percent from downtown. Adebayo delivered eight assists while showing decent aggressiveness under the rim by earning nine free throws. Butler shot 4-7 to get nine points in the last quarter, leading a 27-15 rally.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra made an important change to his starting lineup by replacing Duncan Robinson with Max Strus. Robinson has been the team's biggest defensive liability and struggled with his 3-point shots this season. By contrast, Strus performance well on both fronts in Wednesday's game. Not only did he shoot 4 for 9 in 3-pointers, but he also had three steals, two blocks and drew a key offensive foul on Jayson Tatum at 33 seconds into the fourth quarter.

"I think we did a good job of just communicating and being there for each other," Lowry said.

"We've gotten a lot better of knowing where the ball has to go," Butler said. "Putting everybody in the position that they need to be in to be successful."

The Celtics, without their best defender Robert Williams III, who is out because of a torn meniscus in his left knee, had a big breach to fill in. They allowed the Heat to shoot 48.1 percent (38-79) in field goals (FGs), which was way higher than the average FG rate (43.2 percent) of their opponents this season.

Moreover, the team, especially their star duo Tatum and Jaylen Brown, made too many mistakes on offense in Wednesday's game. They kept dashing into the Heat's four-man defensive pocket, ending up either blocked or stripped of the ball. The Heat don't have a pillar in the paint, but they are one of the league's best teams in defense and trapping.

Brown contributed five 3-pointers, but he missed seven of his 11 shots in the paint. Tatum missed all five of his triples. Though he shot 9-9 under the hoop, he committed four turnovers with only six assists.

"It's a good thing for us to learn from," Tatum said. "The season is not decided today. We've still got games to play, playoffs. So, we'll be good."

The result of this game didn't clear things in the Eastern Conference. The Heat rank first, one game above the Milwaukee Bucks and two games over the Philadelphia 76ers and Celtics. Both the Heat and the Celtics have five games to play, while the 76ers and Bucks have seven. The final ranking of the top four remains unpredictable until the end of the regular season.

Warriors fought and then lost

The Phoenix Suns beat the Golden State Warriors 107-103 at Chase Center on Wednesday to pocket their ninth straight win.

The Suns are currently 62-14, tying with the franchise-best of the 2004-05 and 1992-1993 seasons. With six games to go, they have a good chance to break that record.

One interesting fact is that, in those two seasons, the Suns saw their best players, Steve Nash and Charles Barkley, named for the regular season MVP.

They are unlikely to repeat that wonder this season. Though a lot were talking about why Devin Booker could make a legit candidate for the MVP race recently, their voices will go down after Booker shot 5 for 21 from the floor against the Warriors on Wednesday. Not only did he fail to make enough offensive contributions, but Booker also committed fouls in three straight possessions in the last two minutes. His underperformance almost cost the Suns the game.

Deandre Ayton should be the Suns' most effective weapon against the Warriors with his size, power and finishing ability. However, he was a disappointment as well. Despite the double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds, Ayton missed seven of his eight jumpers and committed five turnovers.

Chris Paul and Miles Bridges were the biggest contributors to the Suns' victory on Wednesday. Bridges continued to shoot 7 for 9 in FGs to get 17 points in the first half. Paul scored eight points in the last quarter, including making the key floater at 13 seconds into the game.

"We felt like we've been there before," Paul said. "Obviously, this is an exciting environment playing in here, the crowd going crazy and all that, but we've been playing a ton of games like that."

The Warriors saw their losing streak grow to four games on Wednesday night. Jordan Poole tied his career best by scoring 38 points. He made seven triples and shot 9 for 10 in free throws. Andrew Wiggins got 19 points and eight rebounds. Though the team didn't have Stephen Curry, they remained hopeful of winning until the last moment.

Klay Thompson and Draymond Green were why victory didn't arrive for the Warriors in the end. Thompson shot 1 for 10 behind the arc. Green had relatively complete stats of eight points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and three blocks, but his turnover at 0:31 turned everything against the Warriors.

The Warriors dropped to fourth in the Western Conference after Wednesday's loss. They share the same record with the Dallas Mavericks above and are two games above the fifth Denver Nuggets. If the Warriors don't want to start their playoffs on the road, they can't afford to continue to lose like this.

Other games on Wednesday (away teams come first):

Dallas Mavericks 120-112 Cleveland Cavaliers

Denver Nuggets 125-118 Indiana Pacers

Orlando Magic 110-127 Washington Wizards

Charlotte Hornets 125-114 New York Knicks

Minnesota Timberwolves 102-125 Toronto Raptors

Sacramento Kings 121-118 Houston Rockets

Atlanta Hawks 136-118 Oklahoma City Thunder

Memphis Grizzlies 112-111 San Antonio Spurs

New Orleans Pelicans 117-107 Portland Trail Blazers