BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics' reaction to pulling into a virtual tie for first place in the Eastern Conference was a virtual shrug.

"I mean, it's nice. It's just a tie though. So it's not that cool," Isaiah Thomas said after his 30 points led Boston to a 112-108 victory over the Miami Heat on Sunday night.

"Just another game," teammate Marcus Smart added.

"We hear it, but that wasn't our focus tonight," added Boston's Jae Crowder, who scored a season-high 25 points and grabbed six rebounds in the 14th win in the last 15 home games, including the last seven. "Our focus was to come in, get another game, keep that momentum going before we start the playoffs."

The win moved the Celtics (48-26) within four percentage points of the idle Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference. And while they are getting what coach Brad Stevens calls "a recovery day" of rest today, they can tune in their televisions and watch the Cavs play a tough game at San Antonio on Monday night. A Cleveland loss and Boston leads the conference.

Boston, 1-2 against Cleveland this season, gets one more shot at the Cavs on April 5 in Boston.

The Celtics swept four games from the Heat, who came in with 24 wins in their last 31 games but lost for the third time in their last four without injured Dion Waiters (15.8 points per game).

Thomas, the league's leading fourth-quarter scorer, had eight points in the final 4:58 after the Celtics, who rallied from a 15-point first-half deficit, blew a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter and trailed by two with 4:13 remaining.

Key offensive rebounds by Al Horford and Smart were huge down the stretch as the Celtics ran their record to 4-0 on a six-game homestand. A rare goaltending call on a free throw against Miami that stood up under review gave Boston a four-point lead with 20.6 seconds left.

The Heat (35-38), still in the mix to get as high as fifth in the conference, saw their lead over the Chicago Bulls for the eighth spot fall to a half-game.

"That's competition," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It's a very good team down there. We got down by 10, but there are a lot of ebbs and flows in basketball games. They made big plays down the stretch."

Thomas, guilty of six turnovers, registered his 49th 25-point-plus game of the season. Amir Johnson added 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Horford had seven points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Crowder's two free throws iced the game with 8.1 seconds remaining.

Smart had seven points, nine assists and five rebounds -- four offensive -- off the bench.

"That's what Marcus does," Thomas said. "Especially when the game's on the line, he makes the biggest plays of the game."

Miami's Hassan Whiteside had his 51st double-double of the season with 19 points and 15 rebounds. Tyler Johnson and James Johnson, both coming off the bench, scored 24 and 20 points, respectively, for the Heat, again playing without the injured Waiters.

Whiteside, asked about his team leaving this game behind, said, "Ain't nothing you can do about it now. We're looking on to Detroit (Tuesday). We've got to focus on them now.

"We've been in control of our destiny, and we've just got to get some wins down the stretch. We just lost some games. It's a little different, it's different."

It was Thomas' 65th 20-point game of the season, tying him with Russell Westbrook for the NBA lead. He has scored in double figures in 122 straight games.

Thomas scored 52 points against the Heat on Dec. 30.

The Celtics matched last season's victory total, but there was no celebration concerning first place. "No one said a word," Stevens said.

Boston has swept the season series from Miami in two straight years for the first time since 1988-89 and 89-90.

NOTES: Celtics G Avery Bradley, who missed Friday night's game because of illness, was back, playing in just his 49th game because of injury and sickness. He had eight points in 30:51. ... Miami G Dion Waiters didn't make the trip because of an ankle sprain and missed his fourth straight game. "There's no new timetable," coach Erik Spoelstra said. ... Celtics G Isaiah Thomas extended his club record with a 3-pointer in his 48th straight game. ... The Celtics improved to 22-0 when leading after three quarters at home. ... Bradley would have been one of the players trying to guard the Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker in his 70-point game, saying Sunday, "It was tough to watch but at the same time incredible." ... The Heat continue their three-game road trip on Tuesday at Detroit.