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The Heat heads north with a chance to turn Beantown into Broomtown.
That’s crazy talk, but the way the Heat played the first two games at AmericanAirlines Arena, anything seems possible. The Heat defeated the Celtics 102-91 on Tuesday to take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-7 second-round series.
Upsets have abounded throughout the NBA in recent days, but the most surprising story line of the week might go to the Heat, which has dominated the Eastern Conference champions with relative ease during so far.
Dwyane Wade took center stage Sunday. On Tuesday, it was LeBron James’ turn to lead. He scored a game-high 35 points on 14-of-25 shooting, including 2 of 4 from three-point range. Fans in a joyous arena stood and screamed in unison with seconds left in the game when James rejected Kevin Garnett’s last-ditch effort to make the game respectable.
“LeBron was physically, mentally and emotionally tough, and that set the tone for everybody,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
After his final block, James walked to the Heat’s bench where his friend and New Orleans point guard Chris Paul had a courtside seat. James cupped his hand over his mouth and yelled something to Paul amid the deafening noise. They both laughed.
As the game ended, fans in the cheap seats ripped the white seat covers off the backs of their chairs and tossed them over the balcony. The Heat has now won five postseason home games in a row.
A 14-0 run in the fourth quarter broke the game open. Boston tied it at 80 with a pair of free throws, but the Heat quickly surged ahead. The third quarter featured nine ties and nine lead changes, but Miami’s fresh legs looked too much for the aging Celtics in the fourth quarter, though.
The initial eight-point sequence of the game-defining run started with a three-pointer from Mario Chalmers and ended with a demonstrative dunk from James, who was fouled. James stomped around the court, there was a timeout and then he made his ensuing free throw to give the Heat an 88-80 lead.
Ray Allen tried to the stop the run, but his three-pointer rimmed out and James answered with four conseuctive points, including a 20-footer from the corner. James pumped his fist after the shot fell, the Celtics called another timeout and the Heat’s 12-point lead was met by a pulsating crowd.
“They’re playing great defensively; they’re making shots offensively,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.
It was over with 3:45 left in the game. That’s when Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo attempted a bank shot but hit nothing but backboard. The Heat took a 94-80 lead on the next possession when Chris Bosh made one of two free-throw attempts.
Bosh finished 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting. With seven free throws on 11 attempts, Bosh was markedly more aggressive in Game 2 than in Game 1. Garnett, Bosh’s counterpart at power forward, had 16 points of 8-of-20 shooting but never attempted a free throw. The Heat was 27 of 36 on free throws compared to Boston’s 17 of 22 from the free-throw line.
“The free-throw line right now we’re getting crushed on,” Rivers said.
Dwyane Wade had 28 points on 8-of-20 shooting, attacking the basket consistently throughout the game. He was 11 of 13 from the free-throw line to go along with eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
Wade’s aggression provided the highlight of the night when he two-stepped around Garnett with such purpose that Boston’s best defender turned his entire back to Wade during the drawn-out move. Wade finished with a free throw to give the Heat a 44-36 lead in the second quarter. The Celtics, which shot 37 percent in the first half, later tied the game at 51-all with 8:14 left in the third.
Wade held Boston three-point specialist Ray Allen to seven points on 2 of 7 shooting. Rondo had 20 points and 12 assists. Paul Pierce finished with 13 points on 5 of 11 from the field.
“Offensively, I don’t think we played well—just getting multiple passes and taking advantage of what they do defensively,” said Allen, who said he suffered a bruised chest cavity during the game. “Honestly, I think they’re attacking us and I don’t think we’re attacking the same.”
The Heat heads north with a chance to turn Beantown into Broomtown.
That’s crazy talk, but the way the Heat played the first two games at AmericanAirlines Arena, anything seems possible. The Heat defeated the Celtics 102-91 on Tuesday to take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-7 second-round series.
Upsets have abounded throughout the NBA in recent days, but the most surprising story line of the week might go to the Heat, which has dominated the Eastern Conference champions with relative ease during so far.
Dwyane Wade took center stage Sunday. On Tuesday, it was LeBron James’ turn to lead. He scored a game-high 35 points on 14-of-25 shooting, including 2 of 4 from three-point range. Fans in a joyous arena stood and screamed in unison with seconds left in the game when James rejected Kevin Garnett’s last-ditch effort to make the game respectable.
“LeBron was physically, mentally and emotionally tough, and that set the tone for everybody,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
After his final block, James walked to the Heat’s bench where his friend and New Orleans point guard Chris Paul had a courtside seat. James cupped his hand over his mouth and yelled something to Paul amid the deafening noise. They both laughed.
As the game ended, fans in the cheap seats ripped the white seat covers off the backs of their chairs and tossed them over the balcony. The Heat has now won five postseason home games in a row.
A 14-0 run in the fourth quarter broke the game open. Boston tied it at 80 with a pair of free throws, but the Heat quickly surged ahead. The third quarter featured nine ties and nine lead changes, but Miami’s fresh legs looked too much for the aging Celtics in the fourth quarter, though.
The initial eight-point sequence of the game-defining run started with a three-pointer from Mario Chalmers and ended with a demonstrative dunk from James, who was fouled. James stomped around the court, there was a timeout and then he made his ensuing free throw to give the Heat an 88-80 lead.
Ray Allen tried to the stop the run, but his three-pointer rimmed out and James answered with four conseuctive points, including a 20-footer from the corner. James pumped his fist after the shot fell, the Celtics called another timeout and the Heat’s 12-point lead was met by a pulsating crowd.
“They’re playing great defensively; they’re making shots offensively,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.
It was over with 3:45 left in the game. That’s when Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo attempted a bank shot but hit nothing but backboard. The Heat took a 94-80 lead on the next possession when Chris Bosh made one of two free-throw attempts.
Bosh finished 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting. With seven free throws on 11 attempts, Bosh was markedly more aggressive in Game 2 than in Game 1. Garnett, Bosh’s counterpart at power forward, had 16 points of 8-of-20 shooting but never attempted a free throw. The Heat was 27 of 36 on free throws compared to Boston’s 17 of 22 from the free-throw line.
“The free-throw line right now we’re getting crushed on,” Rivers said.
Dwyane Wade had 28 points on 8-of-20 shooting, attacking the basket consistently throughout the game. He was 11 of 13 from the free-throw line to go along with eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
Wade’s aggression provided the highlight of the night when he two-stepped around Garnett with such purpose that Boston’s best defender turned his entire back to Wade during the drawn-out move. Wade finished with a free throw to give the Heat a 44-36 lead in the second quarter. The Celtics, which shot 37 percent in the first half, later tied the game at 51-all with 8:14 left in the third.
Wade held Boston three-point specialist Ray Allen to seven points on 2 of 7 shooting. Rondo had 20 points and 12 assists. Paul Pierce finished with 13 points on 5 of 11 from the field.
“Offensively, I don’t think we played well—just getting multiple passes and taking advantage of what they do defensively,” said Allen, who said he suffered a bruised chest cavity during the game. “Honestly, I think they’re attacking us and I don’t think we’re attacking the same.”
