The Boston Celtics (39–14) captured a decisive 85–82 win against their Eastern Conference rivals the Miami Heat (39–15) on Sunday in Boston to move back on top of the Eastern Conference standings.
The win also moves Boston to 3–0 over Miami this season with one game to go in April, which may prove important come playoff time if these teams meet in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Heat were coming into Sunday’s game on an eight-game win streak including four on the road; they had best road record in the Eastern Conference at 19–9.
The Celtics conversely were looking to recover from tough losses against the Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Bobcats last week. They suffered from an even shallower roster on Sunday with Shaquille O’Neal, Jermaine O’Neal, Marquise Daniels, and Nate Robinson all out in injury.
Given that, the win was even more surprising as the Celtics’ poor first half offensive performance where they only managed to score 39 points shooting 37 percent. Paul Pierce was ice cold shooting 0–7 in field goals.
Boston only had two points on the scoreboard after the first five minutes of play on Sunday as they opened with 1–8 in field goal shooting. Their tenacious defense against Miami was their only saving grace in a quarter that finished 20–15 in favor of Miami.
The Celtics’ offensive mediocrity held into the second quarter and they were only able to stay in it the game because of forced Miami turnovers. Miami had eight turnovers in the second quarter alone to finish the half with 12; that was one away from their season game average.
“We’re just a little bit careless with our passes,” LeBron James, who was guarded by Rajon Rondo, told ESPN at halftime. “They get a lot of high hands and try to directly look at our eyes when we throw the ball so we need to be a little bit more careful with the ball and get shots up.”
James matched Chris Bosh’s 10 first half points to lead Miami to 43 points over Boston’s 39 points in a low scoring half.
Pierce’s only point in the first half came off a foul shot, and Ray Allen, Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, and Glen Davis ranged in scoring from seven points (Garnett) to nine points (Perkins).
Rondo led the third-quarter surge with nine points as he quarterbacked the Celtics offense and worked his way to what would eventually be a triple-double.
The Celtics would score 35 points in the third quarter alone going 10–12 in field goals. Allen, Perkins, Garnett, and Davis all made good contributions, and the quarter finished 74–61 to the Celtics.
“We got good shots in the first half and didn’t make them,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said at the start of the fourth quarter. “I think our pace is just so much better in the second half. Rondo is doing a terrific job defensively and offensively, and the other guys are running with him.”
Miami battled back in the fourth quarter led by LeBron and Bosh and the Celtics fell back into their first half shooting funk to score just 11 points.
A string of Celtics fouls put the team over the limit with three minutes to go in the game and threatened to give Miami the edge down the stretch.
Miami pulled within two points with under a minute to go in the game after Rondo missed two wide-open shots.
Then with 12 seconds to go in the game Pierce fouled James on a driving layup, giving the Heat an opportunity to tie. But James missed the first shot and made the second one.
The Heat were forced to foul on the next possession and sent Davis to the line. Davis came up big by hitting both foul shots to bring the Celtics back up by three points with six seconds to go in the game.
Mike Miller managed to get a good look on a three-pointer in the final seconds but the shot didn’t fall, giving Boston the win to the roar of the home crowd.
Bosh finished the night with 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Heat, and James scored 22 points while Dwyane Wade scored 16 points.
Boston was led by Rondo’s triple double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, and Garnett scored 19. Davis and Von Wafer combined for 26 from the Boston bench, while Pierce had his worst scoring performance since 1999 shooting 0–10 in field goals.
The win also moves Boston to 3–0 over Miami this season with one game to go in April, which may prove important come playoff time if these teams meet in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Heat were coming into Sunday’s game on an eight-game win streak including four on the road; they had best road record in the Eastern Conference at 19–9.
The Celtics conversely were looking to recover from tough losses against the Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Bobcats last week. They suffered from an even shallower roster on Sunday with Shaquille O’Neal, Jermaine O’Neal, Marquise Daniels, and Nate Robinson all out in injury.
Given that, the win was even more surprising as the Celtics’ poor first half offensive performance where they only managed to score 39 points shooting 37 percent. Paul Pierce was ice cold shooting 0–7 in field goals.
Boston only had two points on the scoreboard after the first five minutes of play on Sunday as they opened with 1–8 in field goal shooting. Their tenacious defense against Miami was their only saving grace in a quarter that finished 20–15 in favor of Miami.
The Celtics’ offensive mediocrity held into the second quarter and they were only able to stay in it the game because of forced Miami turnovers. Miami had eight turnovers in the second quarter alone to finish the half with 12; that was one away from their season game average.
“We’re just a little bit careless with our passes,” LeBron James, who was guarded by Rajon Rondo, told ESPN at halftime. “They get a lot of high hands and try to directly look at our eyes when we throw the ball so we need to be a little bit more careful with the ball and get shots up.”
James matched Chris Bosh’s 10 first half points to lead Miami to 43 points over Boston’s 39 points in a low scoring half.
Pierce’s only point in the first half came off a foul shot, and Ray Allen, Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, and Glen Davis ranged in scoring from seven points (Garnett) to nine points (Perkins).
Second Half
The Celtics broke their shooting funk in the third quarter to open on a 20–3 run and build the largest lead of the night at 13 points.Rondo led the third-quarter surge with nine points as he quarterbacked the Celtics offense and worked his way to what would eventually be a triple-double.
The Celtics would score 35 points in the third quarter alone going 10–12 in field goals. Allen, Perkins, Garnett, and Davis all made good contributions, and the quarter finished 74–61 to the Celtics.
“We got good shots in the first half and didn’t make them,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said at the start of the fourth quarter. “I think our pace is just so much better in the second half. Rondo is doing a terrific job defensively and offensively, and the other guys are running with him.”
Miami battled back in the fourth quarter led by LeBron and Bosh and the Celtics fell back into their first half shooting funk to score just 11 points.
A string of Celtics fouls put the team over the limit with three minutes to go in the game and threatened to give Miami the edge down the stretch.
Miami pulled within two points with under a minute to go in the game after Rondo missed two wide-open shots.
Then with 12 seconds to go in the game Pierce fouled James on a driving layup, giving the Heat an opportunity to tie. But James missed the first shot and made the second one.
The Heat were forced to foul on the next possession and sent Davis to the line. Davis came up big by hitting both foul shots to bring the Celtics back up by three points with six seconds to go in the game.
Mike Miller managed to get a good look on a three-pointer in the final seconds but the shot didn’t fall, giving Boston the win to the roar of the home crowd.
Bosh finished the night with 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Heat, and James scored 22 points while Dwyane Wade scored 16 points.
Boston was led by Rondo’s triple double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, and Garnett scored 19. Davis and Von Wafer combined for 26 from the Boston bench, while Pierce had his worst scoring performance since 1999 shooting 0–10 in field goals.
