Spurs were forced into one change due to the absence of Teemu Tainio following the knee injury sustained against Portsmouth. Andy Reid was a straight swap on the left of midfield.
Referee Howard Webb booked Michael Dawson as early as the sixth minute for a supposed foul on Mark Viduka just outside the area.
Spurs went ahead after Reid had done well to retrieve a deep cross from the right. He then managed to re-direct the ball to Lee who crossed first time before the advancing Mark Schwarzer gifted Robbie Keane the goal, spilling what should have been a routine catch at the Irishman’s feet who duly obliged on 25 minutes.
However, Middlesbrough made it all square within five minutes when a Queuedrue cross from the left of the area was flicked on by Gareth Southgate and Yakubu smacked a shot into the net from eight yards for his ninth Premiership goal of the season.
Two minutes before the break Morrison made determined strides towards Tottenham’s penalty area evading two opponents before unleashing a 25-yard shot which took a slight deflection off Yakubu and beat Paul Robinson.
Ten minutes into the second period Robinson denied a Yakubu header met with considerable force from a Morrison cross with a superb save.
A minute later Andy Reid was withdrawn and Defoe drafted in.
Spurs then drew level through Jermaine Jenas on 62 minutes for the former Newcastle United player’s third goal of the season. He fired a superb-free kick from a central position, which beat the Boro wall and left the helpless Schwarzer to dive despairingly.
Robinson made a brilliant near-post save to stop Doriva scoring, but in the 69th minute he was eventually beaten. Following a Fabio Rochemback corner Queuedrue’s header came down off the bar and was flagged - TV replays showed correctly by the assistant referee - to have bounced over the line even though the ball came out.
Spurs introduced a fourth striker for the final ten minutes – Rasiak in place of Jenas.
Then from a Carrick corner, Mido rose above several defenders in a crowded penalty area before powering a header past Schwarzer to make it 3-3 in the 83rd minute.
And Defoe could have won it in injury time. Clean through on goal after shaking off Southgate he could not plant the ball with only the advancing Schwarzer to beat.
Worse was to come for Defoe who appeared to turn his ankle and needed to be replaced by Michael Brown in stoppage time.