The Celtics defeated the Heat 85-82 on Sunday afternoon to take over first place in the Eastern Conference.

Miami outscored Boston 21-11 in the fourth quarter, but Mike Miller missed a potential game-tying three-pointer as time expired.

Rajon Rondo had a triple-double as the Celtics improved to 3-0 over the Heat this season. They'll play again on April 10 in Miami.

"They are the defending Eastern Conference champions. You have to go through them, and they ain't going to make it easy," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We understand that this isn't going to be an easy ride for us, and that's where we're at our best."

Boston is happy to have beaten Miami, but they know things will be different come playoff time.

"They're going to be a different team in March and April, the more important months, when we'll probably have to see them again," said Paul Pierce. "It gives us the series in case something happens with a tiebreaker."