NBA

Dee Brown’s layup with 2:32 remaining in the second overtime gave the Boston Celtics a 121-120 win over the Miami Heat Monday night at the Fleet Center in Boston.

“This is a monster win for us. We fought hard in this ballgame,” Celtics coach M.L. Carr said. “We needed this win because we’ve lost so many close ones. It took us to midnight to do it, but they play together and stayed together and got it done.”

Alonzo Mourning had 36 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat in a game that was marred by a second-quarter fight between Boston’s Pervis Ellison and Miami’s Kurt Thomas that had police and security personnel separating players and keeping fans off the court.

“This was a very emotional and draining game,” Miami coach Pat Riley said. “We had our chances and let it get away at the end.”

Billy Owens of the Heat was forced to leave the game with 2:02 left in the first quarter after a collison with Boston’s Todd Day. Team officials said Owens appeared to have a separated right shoulder.

Ellison and Thomas traded shoves and punches following two free throws by Dino Radja with 2:02 left in the second quarter and were ejected. Ellison had a 6-inch laceration inside his mouth that required two stitches.

MIAMI (120)

Owens 1-2 3-4 5, Willis 6-12 5-6 17, Mourning 13-24 10-12 36, Danilovic 4-10 10-14 20, Coles 6-16 3-4 17, Askins 1-6 0-0 3, Grandison 0-1 1-4 1, Myers 7-13 5-7 20, Gamble 0-4 1-2 1, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Ellis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-88 38-53 120.

BOSTON (121)

Radja 8-16 11-18 27, Fox 7-12 4-5 18, Montross 2-3 1-2 5, Brown 7-19 5-6 20, Barros 7-16 3-4 19, Williams 2-4 1-2 5, Day 4-9 0-0 11, Lister 0-1 2-2 2, Minor 3-3 2-2 8, Wesley 0-1 4-4 4, Ellison 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 41-85 33-45 121.

Miami22 28 26 30 7 7 - 120

Boston17 36 31 22 7 8 - 121

3-Point goals-Miami 6-14 (Danilovic 2-3, Coles 2-5, Askins 1-2, Myers 1-3 Grandison 0-1), Boston 6-19 (Day 3-5, Barros 2-6, Brown 1-6, Fox 0-1 Wesley 0-1). Fouled out- Willis, Mourning, Askins, Radja, Montross, Lister. Rebounds-Miami 62 (Willis 15), Boston 59 (Radja 9). Assists-Miami 17 (Myers 8), Boston 24 (Barros 9). Total fouls-Miami 37, Boston 42. Technicals-Miami Illegal defense 5, Boston Illegal defense, Myers, Brown. Flagrant fouls-Williams. Ejections-Ellison, Thomas. A-17,540 (18,600).

Nuggets 85, Pistons 82

Denver

Terry Mills’ shot from beyond half court just after the buzzer was ruled no basket, and Detroit remained winless on the road.

The Pistons, who fell to 0-6 on the road, had two chances to tie the game in the closing seconds but fell short both times. Joe Dumars missed a leaning jumper with 2.2 seconds left, and Mills banked in a 50-footer after a missed free throw, but he did not release the ball before the buzzer.

DETROIT (82)

Hill 9-18 5-6 23, Thorpe 3-14 10-11 16, Leckner 0-0 0-0 0, Hunter 1-4 2-2 5, Houston 5-12 9-10 21, Mills 3-5 0-0 7, Ratliff 0-1 2-2 2, Dumars 2-9 2-2 6, Bardo 0-0 0-0 0, Reid 1-2 0-0 2, Roe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-65 30-33 82.

DENVER (85)

D.Ellis 4-11 1-3 11, McDyess 4-9 2-4 10, Mutombo 4-11 6-10 14, Rose 5-7 4-6 15, Stith 4-12 14-15 22, Hammonds 1-5 2-2 4, MacLean 2-7 2-3 6, Woods 1-3 0-0 3, Spencer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-65 31-43 85.

Detroit 17 13 30 22 - 82

Denver 19 16 23 27 - 85

3-Point goals-Detroit 4-13 (Houston 2-6, Hunter 1-2, Mills 1-2, Dumars 0-3), Denver 4-12 (D.Ellis 2-3, Rose 1-2, Woods 1-3, MacLean 0-1, Stith 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Detroit 43 (Thorpe 7), Denver 53 (Mutombo 9). Assists-Detroit 12 (Thorpe 5), Denver 21 (Rose 9). Total fouls-Detroit 33, Denver 25. Technicals-Detroit illegal defense, Denver illegal defense 4. A-15,116 (17,171).

Bonus points

After leading Orlando to its best month in franchise history, Anfernee Hardaway was honored as the NBA player of the month for November. … Dallas center Donald Hodge is free on bond after his weekend arrest for marijuana possession.