Miami Heat draw first blood – Beat the Boston Celtics 99-90 (Part 1)
The titanic battle, featuring two of the heavy weights of the Eastern Conference, Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics, started off at the American Airlines Arena on
Sunday night. In a physical and emotionally charged spectacle, Miami Heat came out on top as they took the game-1 of their highly anticipated Eastern Conference semi-final series against the Boston Celtics.
Dwyane Wade was the hero of the night. The sharp-shooting Miami guard defied his regular season tail-spin against the Celtics and erupted with a game-high 38 points
on a 14-to-21 shooting; leading the Heat to a 99-90 win. Wade had averaged just 12.8 in the regular season vs. Boston.
LeBron James had 22 points to go along with his 6 rebounds and 5 assists. However, the real difference maker on the night was James Jones. The Miami forward came
off the bench to hit a career post-season high 25 points, regularly hitting big 3’s to keep the momentum going and deny Boston any chance of staging a comeback. His contribution off the bench was also a franchise record.
Boston toiled hard, as they often do, but could not really get going against the charged up Miami team. The Celtics coach Doc Rivers admitted that Miami were just
too good on the night, "I thought they were prepared, they were ready, they played with unbelievable intensity."
Ray Allen said after the game that Boston will have to improve upon this performance if they are to match the Heat,
"There's so many things we need to do to get better," Allen said. "I think everybody in that locker room knows that, just from a small conversation we just had."
Boston only had two players going past the 10 point barrier. Ray Allen scored 25 and Paul Pierce had 19 before he was ejected in the last quarter of a night, which
had many flashpoints. Rajon Rondo could not get going as well and was effectively clamped down by Mike Bibby. Rondo struggled for his 8 points and 7 assists. Kevin Garnett was also quite with just 6 points.
The game started with a hint of what was to come as Wade scored the first four points. LeBron James also got on the scoreboard early as the Heat raced ahead, finishing
the first quarter with the score at 20-14. LeBron and Wade combined for 18 of the 20.
The 2nd quarter had more of the same from Wade and James as Miami built upon their early lead. The Heat were given an extra boost as James Jones came off
the bench to put his mark on the game. Jones hit 4 out of 5 three pointers as the Heat pulled away from the Celtics. Wade closed the first half by hitting a three and then followed it with a fade away jumper as the Heat roared into the locker-room with a 51-36
lead.
A big reason for Boston’s struggles on the night was the non-performance of Rajon Rondo. Rondo, who is the playmaker-in-chief for this Celtics team, was hounded effectively
by Bibby and company. Early in the second quarter Jones drew a third foul on Rondo, forcing Boston coach Doc Rivers to bench the player for the rest of the period.
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