“Them just having that belief in me gave me the confidence and motivated me, and luckily they[the shots] went in.”
Wade finished with 23 points, including six of nine from three-point range, with eight rebounds.
The Cavaliers, who were missing key players Donovan Mitchell and Max Strus, sit third in the Eastern Conference with a record of 40-21.
Boston remain comfortably top of the Eastern Conference with a 48-13 record, despite this late collapse.
“We just went cold,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I thought we had some good possessions where we didn’t make the shot. But credit to them, Wade played really well.”
Elsewhere, the Phoenix Suns held on to clinch a 117-107 overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets.
The Suns had led by 22 points in the third quarter but scored just 12 in the final period.
Kevin Durant scored 35 points and Grayson Allen added 28, including eight three-pointers, to seal the win.
“We missed 10 straight shots in the fourth quarter – but that’s the name of the game, you just stick with it,” Durant said afterwards.
Meanwhile, Luka Doncic scored a 39-point triple double with 10 rebounds and 11 assists but it was not enough as the Dallas Mavericks lost 137-120 to the Indiana Pacers.