The 2010–2011 NBA season kicked off on Tuesday night with a matchup of enormous proportions—the defending Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics hosting the star-studded Miami Heat at the TD Garden.
The Celtics came out on top 88–80 after leading for almost the entire game in the most anticipated season opener in recent NBA history.
Basketball’s new “Big 3” in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh didn’t live up to the hype from the start, with Miami delivering a horrendous offensive performance in the first half.
The Heat only had nine points in the first quarter and 30 at the half, which was lower than all of the team’s games last year.
After trading a few baskets in the early going, Boston pulled away led by the quarterbacking of point guard Rajon Rondo, who is turning out to be the offensive glue for the Celtics.
Rondo was quick to get the Celtic’s new big man Shaquille O’Neal involved early on with a couple of monstrous dunks after Shaq missed two easy layups.
Shaq’s presence down low brought Boston fans to their feet. Rondo finished the night with an amazing 17 assists—two short of his career high.
The Celtics entered halftime with a 15-point lead 45–30, keeping James, Wade, and Bosh to just 10, 7, and 4 points respectively. Almost none of those points were inside the paint, thanks in part to Shaq’s intimidating presence.
Boston was led in the first half by Ray Allen with 11 points.
“We’re just giving them so many different looks. We’re making sure that our feet aren’t planted, we’re moving them around,” Allen told TNT at the half.
LeBron took over in the third quarter, with Wade taking a break, scoring 15 points to bring the Heat within six points 63–57 after trailing by as much as 19 points in the first half.
Boston extended their lead to start the fourth quarter, but then the Heat cut it down again midway through the quarter, this time to four points with the help of 3-pointers from reserve player James Jones.
Boston again rallied to go up by over 10 points sparked by a clutch 3-pointer by Paul Pierce, only to have the Heat come back to within three points in the final minutes off an 8–0 run.
But then Ray Allen hit a key 3-pointer from the left corner to seal the win. Allen led the Celtics with 20 points including five 3-pointers, followed by Pierce with 19 and Glen Davis with 13. Six of Davis’s points were in the fourth quarter.
Kevin Garnett had some big defensive plays and scored 10 points while grabbing 10 rebounds.
Miami was led by LeBron with 31 points, followed by 13 points from Wade. Bosh only scored eight points.
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra has much more work to do to harness the talent at his disposal and achieve its potential.
When asked after the game whether Miami was now the team to beat in the East, Rondo responded without hesitation to TNT, “No, we are.”
The Celtics came out on top 88–80 after leading for almost the entire game in the most anticipated season opener in recent NBA history.
Basketball’s new “Big 3” in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh didn’t live up to the hype from the start, with Miami delivering a horrendous offensive performance in the first half.
The Heat only had nine points in the first quarter and 30 at the half, which was lower than all of the team’s games last year.
After trading a few baskets in the early going, Boston pulled away led by the quarterbacking of point guard Rajon Rondo, who is turning out to be the offensive glue for the Celtics.
Rondo was quick to get the Celtic’s new big man Shaquille O’Neal involved early on with a couple of monstrous dunks after Shaq missed two easy layups.
Shaq’s presence down low brought Boston fans to their feet. Rondo finished the night with an amazing 17 assists—two short of his career high.
The Celtics entered halftime with a 15-point lead 45–30, keeping James, Wade, and Bosh to just 10, 7, and 4 points respectively. Almost none of those points were inside the paint, thanks in part to Shaq’s intimidating presence.
Boston was led in the first half by Ray Allen with 11 points.
“We’re just giving them so many different looks. We’re making sure that our feet aren’t planted, we’re moving them around,” Allen told TNT at the half.
LeBron took over in the third quarter, with Wade taking a break, scoring 15 points to bring the Heat within six points 63–57 after trailing by as much as 19 points in the first half.
Boston extended their lead to start the fourth quarter, but then the Heat cut it down again midway through the quarter, this time to four points with the help of 3-pointers from reserve player James Jones.
Boston again rallied to go up by over 10 points sparked by a clutch 3-pointer by Paul Pierce, only to have the Heat come back to within three points in the final minutes off an 8–0 run.
But then Ray Allen hit a key 3-pointer from the left corner to seal the win. Allen led the Celtics with 20 points including five 3-pointers, followed by Pierce with 19 and Glen Davis with 13. Six of Davis’s points were in the fourth quarter.
Kevin Garnett had some big defensive plays and scored 10 points while grabbing 10 rebounds.
Miami was led by LeBron with 31 points, followed by 13 points from Wade. Bosh only scored eight points.
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra has much more work to do to harness the talent at his disposal and achieve its potential.
When asked after the game whether Miami was now the team to beat in the East, Rondo responded without hesitation to TNT, “No, we are.”
