The Miami Heat came away with a hard-fought 98–90 overtime win against the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden on Monday night to move up 3–1 in the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals led by 35 points from LeBron James.
James led the Heat with 20 first half points while Dwyane Wade added 14, and then Chris Bosh came alive in the second half, scoring 15 points.
Wade and Bosh finished the night with 28 points and 20 points, respectively, marking the first time in the playoffs that Miami’s much-hyped Big Three all managed to connect.
The Celtics were carried by 27 points by Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo added 17 points and 10 points, respectively. But Kevin Garnett struggled offensively and was unable to play effectively down low. The 35-year-old veteran was a defensive menace, though.
The Celtics maintained a marginal lead for most of the game; they got off to a quick scoring start to lead by as much as eight points in the first quarter, carried by 14 points from Paul Pierce.
Rondo, who dislocated his left elbow in the third quarter of Game 3 but returned to play in the fourth quarter, showed no signs that his injury was going to affect his play.
Rondo still managed to command the Boston offense even with limited dribbling from his left hand and made some aggressive drives early on in the first quarter to score six quick points. Boston got to the foul line a lot in the first quarter and outscored Miami in fast break points.
The Celtics would pull up by as much as 11 points—their largest lead of the night—early in the second quarter but then went on a field-goal shooting drought.
The Heat took their first lead of the game with just under three minutes left in the half off a powerful fast-break dunk from LeBron James after he got a steal. It was a sign of things to come as Boston headed to the locker room with a marginal 53–50 lead.
The third quarter was tight throughout, with Miami building their largest lead of the night, up four points midway through the quarter until Boston picked up their defense.
James only scored two points at the very end of the quarter as Bosh and Wade filled in the offensive gap. Bosh had been largely absent in the series until that point.
A gritty fourth quarter with good defense from both teams helped keep the shooting percentages very low until the six-minute mark.
The momentum seemed to shift to Miami, who again grabbed a small lead. But Boston would rally to hit back-to-back 3-pointers from Delonte West and Ray Allen to pull back up by three points and ignite the crowd.
The excitement for Boston fans was short lived, though. James answered the call with a 3-pointer of his own to even the score back up, and then score on a difficult driving layup to give Miami a two-point lead with under a minute to go in the game.
Pierce quickly tied the game back up at 86–86 with his version of a driving layup, and James would fumble the ball on the next possession to give Boston a chance to win the game with 19 seconds on the clock.
But Boston failed to execute a play designed for Pierce, forcing Pierce to go to his left and heave a bank shot at the buzzer that wouldn’t fall, sending the game to extra minutes.
Miami would own the overtime, with a beleaguered Boston starting lineup only scoring four points—two from a pair of Garnett free throws. Miami’s youth and smothering defense proved the deciding factor.
Miami opened OT scoring on their first two possessions, and then Wade gave the Heat their largest lead of the night at seven points off a deep fade-away jump shot with two minutes to go.
Boston—refusing to give in—would battle back to within three points, but a tip-in by Bosh in the final minute would break the back of the Celtics who were forced to foul after that.
Boston now stares down elimination in front of their home crowd on Wednesday.
James led the Heat with 20 first half points while Dwyane Wade added 14, and then Chris Bosh came alive in the second half, scoring 15 points.
Wade and Bosh finished the night with 28 points and 20 points, respectively, marking the first time in the playoffs that Miami’s much-hyped Big Three all managed to connect.
The Celtics were carried by 27 points by Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo added 17 points and 10 points, respectively. But Kevin Garnett struggled offensively and was unable to play effectively down low. The 35-year-old veteran was a defensive menace, though.
The Celtics maintained a marginal lead for most of the game; they got off to a quick scoring start to lead by as much as eight points in the first quarter, carried by 14 points from Paul Pierce.
Rondo, who dislocated his left elbow in the third quarter of Game 3 but returned to play in the fourth quarter, showed no signs that his injury was going to affect his play.
Rondo still managed to command the Boston offense even with limited dribbling from his left hand and made some aggressive drives early on in the first quarter to score six quick points. Boston got to the foul line a lot in the first quarter and outscored Miami in fast break points.
The Celtics would pull up by as much as 11 points—their largest lead of the night—early in the second quarter but then went on a field-goal shooting drought.
The Heat took their first lead of the game with just under three minutes left in the half off a powerful fast-break dunk from LeBron James after he got a steal. It was a sign of things to come as Boston headed to the locker room with a marginal 53–50 lead.
Second Half
The third quarter was tight throughout, with Miami building their largest lead of the night, up four points midway through the quarter until Boston picked up their defense.
James only scored two points at the very end of the quarter as Bosh and Wade filled in the offensive gap. Bosh had been largely absent in the series until that point.
A gritty fourth quarter with good defense from both teams helped keep the shooting percentages very low until the six-minute mark.
The momentum seemed to shift to Miami, who again grabbed a small lead. But Boston would rally to hit back-to-back 3-pointers from Delonte West and Ray Allen to pull back up by three points and ignite the crowd.
The excitement for Boston fans was short lived, though. James answered the call with a 3-pointer of his own to even the score back up, and then score on a difficult driving layup to give Miami a two-point lead with under a minute to go in the game.
Pierce quickly tied the game back up at 86–86 with his version of a driving layup, and James would fumble the ball on the next possession to give Boston a chance to win the game with 19 seconds on the clock.
But Boston failed to execute a play designed for Pierce, forcing Pierce to go to his left and heave a bank shot at the buzzer that wouldn’t fall, sending the game to extra minutes.
Miami would own the overtime, with a beleaguered Boston starting lineup only scoring four points—two from a pair of Garnett free throws. Miami’s youth and smothering defense proved the deciding factor.
Miami opened OT scoring on their first two possessions, and then Wade gave the Heat their largest lead of the night at seven points off a deep fade-away jump shot with two minutes to go.
Boston—refusing to give in—would battle back to within three points, but a tip-in by Bosh in the final minute would break the back of the Celtics who were forced to foul after that.
Boston now stares down elimination in front of their home crowd on Wednesday.
