LeBron James launches a 35-point blitz as Miami Heat gun down the Boston Celtics 102-91
LeBron James smashed the Boston Celtics with a game-high 35 points and clutched seven rebounds, propelling Miami Heat to an exhilarating 102-91 victory at the American Airlines Arena on Tuesday night. The other two cogs of the formidable ‘big three’ were not far behind. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh joined the action and racked up 28 and 17 points respectively as the Heat amplified the Eastern Conference semi-final series lead to 2-0.
Miami coach Eric Spoelstra was pumped up after the game and showered praise on the two times reigning MVP."LeBron was physically, mentally, and emotionally tough for us tonight. That set the tone for everybody and Dwyane, obviously, on both ends of the court."
Fuelled with the determination to race away into the NBA finals, the invincible trio did not let opposition dominate throughout the game. Rajon Rondo was the highlight in the Celtics line-up. The swingman overcame a disastrous outing in game-1 and notched up 20 points, 12 assist and 6 rebounds. He did not get a substantial support from the rest of the cast though and it’s very rare for any team to outshine the might of the big 3 single-handedly.
Boston headed out convincingly and raced to a 9-4 run in the preliminary five minutes of the first quarter. However, their surge was nipped by the 3-point specialist Mike Bibby, who landed a blow from beyond the arc. Wade and James then carried the action to marshal Miami, who finished the first 12 minutes with a 27-26 lead.
The Celtics reclaimed the advantage early in the second quarter as Ray Allen’s knocked down a 3-pointer. However, Miami’s superstar trio continued their up-tempo game and carried the Heat to a 47-42 advantage going into the break.
James utterly dominated the proceedings after half time leaving few options for the visiting team to gain any sort of momentum. LeBron landed 12 points in the third quarter including two successive blows from downtown and the Miami procured 72-67 lead before entering the final quarter.
Staring at a five point deficit, the Celtics took the game to the Heat and reeled off a 7-4 burst early on in the fourth period. Celts continued to mount a fight back and with 7:14 left on the clock, Paul Pierce slipped in two charity throws to tie the game at 80-all.
However, the Heat were in no mood to provide the C’s any breathing space. Mario Chalmers went down on the very next possession; Wade followed with two free throws. In the next two minutes, James erupted with eight consecutive points, sealing the game for good.
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