Heat Draw First Blood With Big 3rd Quarter Run Take 1-0 Series Lead
Fresh from their game 7 victory against Philly Saturday night, the Celtics were in South Beach to play game 1 of the ECF with rival Miami Heat. The first quarter set the tone for the entire game as the Celtics came out sluggish scoring only 11 points in the entire period. LeBron James didn’t make things any better by outscoring the starting five alone netting 13 in the first quarter. Celtics forward, Kevin Garnett did everything thing he could initially to keep the Celtics in the game with hopes that the rest of his teammates would respond to his signature intensive style play; but only Rajon Rondo would respond as he finished 16 points, 9 boards and 7 dimes. Late in the 2nd quarter on a missed jump shot by LeBron James, Joel Anthony had a last second put back before their current shot clock expired. With 20 seconds left before halftime, Paul Pierce hit a corner 3 to bring the C’s to within 2. At halftime, the Joel Anthony put back would be waived off, making the game tied before the 3rd quarter started. By the start of the 3rd, Miami was determined to put the game away and did so by holding the C’s to only 15 points in which they previously scored 35 in the 2 quarter. Miami’s team defense led helped them get easy transition buckets and had a few key blocks during the quarter as well. In the 4th quarter, Miami went up by as many as 17 as they just coasted to the finish line. The Heat who didn’t trail the game at any point of the game, finished with a 48-33 rebound edge, and even had 11 to 1 block advantage over Boston.
The Heat had a horrendous 3-point shooting percentage in game at 20% going 5 for 25, but the heroics of LBJ and Wade were enough for Miami to prevail in the opener. LeBron finished off with a game high of 32 points, 13 rebounds and only 3 assist, while his co-partner D-Wade finished off with 22 points (shooting 8 for 13) and 7 assist. For the Celtics, the only player that was in sync the entire game was Kevin Garnett who had a double-double with 23 points (shooting 9-16) and 10 boards. Paul Pierce shot pretty poorly going 5 for 18 in 40 minutes, and Ray Allen who’s still battling with his ankle injury only made 1 shot the entire game going 1 for 7 and even shot bad from the stripe as he went 3 for 7. Normally in the Conference Finals for a non-lockout season; players would have a two or three day rest period in between games, but this year there’s a game every other night. This is obviously not favorable for Boston, as they were visibly tired late in the 3rd quarter and the entire 4th from their previous 7 game series with 76ers. Tuesday, the Celtics are scheduled to have a practice session but I wouldn’t expect it be long. Film session’s and lots of rest is now the game plan for experienced Celtics right now. Heat forward, Chris Bosh partook in practice drills Monday afternoon, but his status for the rest of the series is still uncertain. Expect Bosh to rest until the NBA Finals if Miami’s Dynamic Duo continues their dominant play against Boston.
Game 2 is scheduled Wednesday on ESPN with a tip-off set for 8:30 pm (ET).
Win Or Go Home.
(2) Miami Heat vs. (4) Boston Celtics | Heat Lead 1-0
Game 1: Miami 93, Boston 79
Game 2: at MIA, Wed. May 30, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
Game 3: at BOS, Fri. June 1, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
Game 4: at BOS, Sun. June 3, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
Game 5: at MIA, Tue. June 5, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, (If Necessary)
Game 6: at BOS, Thu. June 7, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, (If Necessary)
Game 7: at MIA, Sat. June 9, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, (If Necessary)
Bonus: Bruce Bowen and Stephen A. Smith Discuss The Importance Of Chris Bosh In The Miami Heat Lineup