Kevin Garnett leads as Boston Celtics rout Miami Heat 97-81, to bounce back in the series
Kevin Garnett spearheaded the Boston Celtics, as they routed the Miami Heat 97-81 on Saturday night at the TD Garden, Boston. The C’s rebounded back in the best-of-seven game series with this crucial victory in game-3, but the Heat still lead the series
2-1.
Garnett scored a game-high 28 points and clutched 18 rebounds to reach another game winning double-double of his career.
His team-mate Paul Pierce chipped in with very vital 27 points.
Boston’s Pierce opened the quarter with his two-point shot as the Celtics quickly raced to an 18-7 advantage, with 6:26 remaining in the first. Pierce led this rally by hitting 10 points, including a 23-foot whoosher. A hale and hearty Shaquille O'Neal,
scored his first and the last two points of the period as the Celtics secured the first quarter 27-21.
Trailing by six points into the second quarter, ferocious Miami made some quick possessions and notched the deficit down to just one within first three minutes, making it 29-28. Then in 6:13, they grabbed the lead with Mario Chalmers’ swishing three-pointer
and moved to a 34-36 lead, but the Celtics replied with a brisk 7-2 run of their own and took the charge again at 41-40.
However, Dwyane Wade rattled the C’s with his dazzling athleticism, as he thumped six points in comparison to Boston’s two, that swung the momentum back in Miami’s favour and they led the Celtics 46-44 at halftime.
After a distressing second period, the C’s rushed back in the third quarter, launching a 16-4 run that outscored the Heat and raised Boston's lead to 60-50. Garnett keyed this crucial surge to put the C’s back in the game. From there on, the Celtics did
not look back and glided throughout the quarter, before leading the Heat by 72-61 into the last 12 minutes.
Boston carried on with the same momentum and went on stretching the lead. The Celtics led by as many as 18 with Jeff Green hitting six points during the spurt. This really dented the spirits of the Heat, as it was all one way traffic after that and the C’s
ended up winning the game by a huge margin of 16 points.
Wade led the Heat with 23 points together with six rebounds, seven assists, one steal and one block.
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