Boston Celtics makes it two-straight against the Miami Heat
After defeating the Miami Heat on opening night, the Boston Celtics proved that their win was no fluke as they cruised past the star-studded team again, 112-107, on Thursday 11 November at
American Airlines Arena in Miami.
Ray Allen came out big for Boston as he torched the Heat with his 35 points on 7-9 shooting from beyond-the-arc and sank two crucial free throws down the stretch, leading the Celtics to their
seventh win in their first nine games this season.
“Ray was unbelievable on both ends,” Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said on Allen, who converted his first seven three-point attempts.
Paul Pierce also had a share of the spotlight as he scored 25 points, and Kevin Garnett tallied 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Rajon Rondo did a great job once again in orchestrating their
offence, tallying 16 assists to go with eight points.
“Everybody just stepped in and did their job,” Rivers said. “Tonight was the first night I thought we had complete trust in the next pass.”
Boston came out firing in the opening period and led by as much as 12 points, 22-10, behind the impressive performances of Allen and Rondo.
The early lead made it difficult for the Heat, as they continued to struggle with their offensive sets, although they were able to put off a scare to the Celtics when they pulled within three
points, 110-107, with 13.3 seconds left. However, Allen sealed the win for the Celtics with two free throws in the ensuing possession.
LeBron James led the Heat with his 35 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists, scoring at least 30 points in his last six regular-season games against Boston, but it wasn’t enough as they dropped
their fourth in their first nine games.
“You get to a point where you say you try to rush it, you try to rush the process,” said James, who also had three steals and shot 9-for-21 from the field. “We're talented enough, we're going
to win some games, and we’re going to win a lot of games. But we have to accept this process and understand that it's going to be one.”
Udonis Haslem added 21 points and 10 rebounds, while the Heat also got 15 points and seven rebounds from Chris Bosh, who also said after the game that they are still trying to find the tendencies
of each other inside the court.
“There's no need to be frustrated,” Bosh said. “We're nine games into the season and we can't play perfect basketball right off the bat. We just have to keep working.”
Heat leading-scorer Dwyane Wade, who only scored 13 points in their first game against the Celtics, struggled once again, scoring only eight points on 2-12 shooting, but the high-flying superstar
remains optimistic about their chances this season.
“We're the best 5-4 team in the league,” said Wade. “How about that? But we've got a lot of work to do.”
The Heat, who is awaiting the return of sweet-shooting guard-forward Mike Miller, absorbed their second-straight loss at home after the stunning 116-114 overtime loss against the Utah Jazz
on Tuesday 9 November.
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