The Boston Celtics (26–8) beat the Miami Heat (17–17) 112–106 in a gripping game that went into overtime on Wednesday night at American Airlines Arena in Miami.
It was the second matchup between the Celtics and the Heat this season, with the Celtics getting a 92–85 win in November.
The Celtics had the best road record in the NBA going into Wednesday’s game at 13–4 and the second-best overall record (first in the Eastern Conference). But the Dwyane Wade Heat made them fight every minute of the game to get the “W” with an edge-of-your-seat finish that included fantastic last second plays from Wade and the Celtics’ Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen.
Wade finished the night with a season high 44 points and seven assists, and Rondo finished the night with 25 points and eight assists. Allen finished the night with 22 points, including three clutch 3-pointers.
After an explosive first quarter—the Heat’s best of the season and both teams shooting over 60 percent from the field—that ended in a five-point Heat lead, the Celtics picked up the pace in the second quarter and ended the first half up 57–54.
Celtics relief man Kendrick Perkins was a powerhouse inside in the first half, using his 280 pounds to clear space and get assists from a driving Rondo. He finished most plays with either dunks or power layups, getting fouled in the process on many occasions.
The Celtics controlled the tempo going into the third quarter, at one point pulling up by eight before Wade pulled the Heat back to within one with an amazing turnaround three with four minutes to go.
The Heat took control of the rest of the quarter with high intensity play from Wade and Mario Chalmers.
But the Celtics battled back in the fourth, and the final minute of the game went down to the wire with Allen draining a three with 53 seconds to go to give the Celtics a four-point lead.
Jermaine O’Neal then hit a field goal on the next possession to close the gap by two, and then the magic really took hold for Wade after Paul Pierce missed his shot attempt on the next play.
Wade drew a foul from Allen that sent him to the foul line with 30 seconds to go and a chance to tie it up. After sticking both shots, he then pressured Allen on the return possession and stole the ball for a breakaway dunk to put the Heat up by two with 0.6 seconds to go.
But the game wasn’t over in the minds of the Celtics. After Celtics coach Doc Rivers called a time out, the Celtics executed their out of bounds play perfectly with a Paul Pierce pass to Rondo for a flying layup to send the game into overtime.
The Celtics pulled ahead in OT, but Wade drained a three to bring the score to 108–106 Celtics with 51 seconds to go. But Rondo answered with a driving lob to give the Celtics a four-point lead with 34 seconds left.
“You know with 0.6 seconds on the clock, pretty much most people hang their heads, but when you’re the opposing team you’ve got to always fight. You’ve got to know that the fat lady’s not singing yet,” said Ray Allen.
“That ball had a lot of hang time on it and Rondo being the athlete that he is, he’s probably one of the only guys who could have got that. You know he saved the game for us.”
Kevin Garnett sat out his third straight game with a strained knee, and it was Paul Pierce’s and Rojon Rondo’s first game back from injury. Sixth man Rasheed Wallace filled Garnett’s shoes.
After last night’s performance, it’s hard to believe that Rondo won’t be looking at his first All-Star appearance in February. He leads the NBA in steals and is arguably the best guard in the Eastern Conference this season.
It was the second matchup between the Celtics and the Heat this season, with the Celtics getting a 92–85 win in November.
The Celtics had the best road record in the NBA going into Wednesday’s game at 13–4 and the second-best overall record (first in the Eastern Conference). But the Dwyane Wade Heat made them fight every minute of the game to get the “W” with an edge-of-your-seat finish that included fantastic last second plays from Wade and the Celtics’ Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen.
Wade finished the night with a season high 44 points and seven assists, and Rondo finished the night with 25 points and eight assists. Allen finished the night with 22 points, including three clutch 3-pointers.
After an explosive first quarter—the Heat’s best of the season and both teams shooting over 60 percent from the field—that ended in a five-point Heat lead, the Celtics picked up the pace in the second quarter and ended the first half up 57–54.
Celtics relief man Kendrick Perkins was a powerhouse inside in the first half, using his 280 pounds to clear space and get assists from a driving Rondo. He finished most plays with either dunks or power layups, getting fouled in the process on many occasions.
The Celtics controlled the tempo going into the third quarter, at one point pulling up by eight before Wade pulled the Heat back to within one with an amazing turnaround three with four minutes to go.
The Heat took control of the rest of the quarter with high intensity play from Wade and Mario Chalmers.
But the Celtics battled back in the fourth, and the final minute of the game went down to the wire with Allen draining a three with 53 seconds to go to give the Celtics a four-point lead.
Jermaine O’Neal then hit a field goal on the next possession to close the gap by two, and then the magic really took hold for Wade after Paul Pierce missed his shot attempt on the next play.
Wade drew a foul from Allen that sent him to the foul line with 30 seconds to go and a chance to tie it up. After sticking both shots, he then pressured Allen on the return possession and stole the ball for a breakaway dunk to put the Heat up by two with 0.6 seconds to go.
But the game wasn’t over in the minds of the Celtics. After Celtics coach Doc Rivers called a time out, the Celtics executed their out of bounds play perfectly with a Paul Pierce pass to Rondo for a flying layup to send the game into overtime.
The Celtics pulled ahead in OT, but Wade drained a three to bring the score to 108–106 Celtics with 51 seconds to go. But Rondo answered with a driving lob to give the Celtics a four-point lead with 34 seconds left.
“You know with 0.6 seconds on the clock, pretty much most people hang their heads, but when you’re the opposing team you’ve got to always fight. You’ve got to know that the fat lady’s not singing yet,” said Ray Allen.
“That ball had a lot of hang time on it and Rondo being the athlete that he is, he’s probably one of the only guys who could have got that. You know he saved the game for us.”
Kevin Garnett sat out his third straight game with a strained knee, and it was Paul Pierce’s and Rojon Rondo’s first game back from injury. Sixth man Rasheed Wallace filled Garnett’s shoes.
After last night’s performance, it’s hard to believe that Rondo won’t be looking at his first All-Star appearance in February. He leads the NBA in steals and is arguably the best guard in the Eastern Conference this season.
