Just when you thought this nightmarish November couldn't get any worse . . .

On the verge of its first win in three weeks, the Heat found an excruciating way to prolong its worst stretch in more than a decade.

After Eddie House's two free throws put Miami ahead with 3.5 seconds left, Paul Pierce drove past Eddie Jones for a layup to give Boston an 84-83 win Tuesday and send the Heat (2-11) to its ninth straight loss.

``A loss like this is enough to take the drive and determination away momentarily,'' center Alonzo Mourning said. ``The true test is how we come back from this to avoid feeling this pain. Nobody would have thought in their wildest dreams . . . we would be in this position.''

Said coach Pat Riley: ``I know we will win another game. We have to stop the bleeding by getting a win. I didn't think we would be anywhere near where we are.''

Pierce, who scored 33 points, took the inbounds pass at the top of the key, blew past Jones, took two dribbles and hit a layup just before the buzzer. Mourning tried to help but was late.