Miami Heat knock out the Boston Celtics; Advance to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 97 – 87 win - Part 1
On Wednesday night, LeBron James finally exorcised the demon which had haunted him for a long time. After getting humiliated by Boston Celtics in the conference semi-finals last year, James saw himself turning from a hometown heartthrob
into a hometown villain at Cleveland. A few days later, he decided to bring his talents to the South Beach aiming to mount a revenge on the C’s.
Wednesday night was the night he had been waiting for all season long. When LeBron knelt on the floor at the end of game-5; redemption was finally his.
At a jam packed American Airlines Arena, Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics 97 – 87. After a closely fought game, in which Boston led early, the Heat’s big guns delivered down the stretch to send Boston crashing out of the
playoffs.
Although LeBron finished them off, Dwyane Wade was the real thorn in Boston’s side. Wade carried his team for three quarters. He was everywhere as he scored 34 points grabbed 10 rebounds, and even got a block on Kevin Garnett.
LeBron was huge as well with 33 points. He was especially deadly from downtown, making 5-of-7 and took over in the final quarter to see Miami home. Chris Bosh had a double-double with 11 boards and 14 points. Together, the Big Three of Miami piled on 81 points.
Boston’s Big Three could only manage 45 and that proved to be the difference in the end. Ray Allen led with 18, while Kevin Garnett had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Rajon Rondo struggled with pain in his back and the elbow he dislocated
in game-3 and spent much of his time receiving treatment. He managed only 6 points and was a non-factor for the Celtics.
Miami’s coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game that his team had waited a long time for this moment, "It took a 5 1/2-month season for us to get to this point ... to exorcise these demons. It was a series all of us wanted since
training camp."
Boston on the other hand conceded that the better team had won; Paul Pierce was gracious in defeat,
"Right now, I am really upset," Pierce said. "I wish I could have played better tonight. Unfortunately we came up on the short end of the stick. I tip my hat off to Miami. They really played great basketball."
Celtic’s coach Doc Rivers simply said Dwyane Wade and LeBron James together is simply too tough an opponent, and it was these two that took the game, and the series, away from Boston, "Those two guys are monsters. When they're
making shots, it makes it very difficult."
Boston made a solid start and took the lead early in the first quarter. Behind 12 points from Kevin Garnett they established a healthy advantage, as much as 9 points, near the end. However, some amazing shots from Dwyane Wade kept
them from pulling away further and the quarter ended at 16 – 24.
Although the Celtics led throughout the 2nd period, the Heat made considerable inroads into their lead. They went on an 11 – 2 run near the start, which cut the gap to just 1 point with 8:04 remaining. However, a three
point play from Pierce and then a three by Allen stopped Miami’s charge.
The Heat got within a single point again though as James drove for a layup with just under 3 minutes left till the interval. The C’s responded but 40 seconds later Heat again closed the gap to one. The Heat kept on striding but
just couldn’t find a final push, allowing the Celtics to close the first half at 49 – 47.
Tags: