Celtics-Heat Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Apr 09 2012 6:48PM

Much was made about the Boston Celtics' easy win over the Miami Heat just over a week ago.

A repeat performance, however, could be hard to come by with the next matchup coming in South Beach.

Surging Boston tries for an eighth win in 10 games Tuesday night against a Heat team that's been nearly unbeatable at home.

The Celtics (32-24) have used a 7-2 run to climb into first place in the Atlantic Division, with the most notable of those wins coming 91-72 over Miami (40-15) on April 1. Rajon Rondo posted 16 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds for Boston, which limited the Heat to a season-worst 34.8 percent shooting and their lowest scoring output of 2011-12.

"We'll be better prepared," LeBron James said. "They beat us. They dominated us in that game. But we'll be better prepared."

The Celtics followed that victory with back-to-back losses to San Antonio and Chicago before winning 86-72 at Indiana on Saturday and 103-79 over division-rival Philadelphia the following night.

"We know what's at stake," forward Paul Pierce said. "A fourth seed, maybe a third."

The Celtics own a three-game division lead over New York and Philadelphia and sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

"This team is taking it to another level. They make you look bad. Did it to Miami last Sunday, did it to Indiana and now they did it to us," said 76ers coach Doug Collins, whose team was limited to 38.2 percent shooting.

"They are going to be a handful and I wouldn't want to play them in the playoffs. When Boston locks in they are really tough to play against. It's going to be very interesting. I wouldn't blink on Boston. Everybody wants to talk about Miami and Chicago."

The Heat are two games behind the Bulls for the top spot in the East thanks largely to their play on their own court. Miami had a 17-game home winning streak end with Friday night's 97-82 loss to Memphis before beating Detroit 98-75 at AmericanAirlines Arena on Sunday.

James had 26 points, Chris Bosh scored 22 to go along with nine rebounds and James Jones tied a career high with six 3-pointers Sunday for Miami, which was without Dwyane Wade due to right ankle soreness.

"Right now, every guy's on edge pretty much, trying to play to their utmost capabilities," Jones said. "We understand it's the playoffs and we need to play better as a team. From one through 15, every guy needs to play better."

Wade, expected back Tuesday, had 15 points on 6-of-17 shooting last week against Boston. James scored 23 but failed to record an assist for just the second time in his career.

The Celtics rank near the top of the league with 89.3 points allowed per game but have been even better over the last nine contests, giving up an average of 81.7 on 37.9 percent shooting.

"The defense is real good, guys are locked in," coach Doc Rivers said. "I don't care how well you play, your offense is going to fail you sometimes. But if you come with the right mind-set, your defense never should, and it'll always give you a chance to win a game."

The Celtics have taken 15 of 18 regular-season matchups in this series but have dropped their last two visits to Miami. The Heat shot 56.0 percent - the highest mark surrendered by Boston in almost two years - during a 115-107 home win Dec. 27.

Rondo has dished out at least 10 assists in 17 consecutive games, the longest such run since Utah's John Stockton did so in 29 straight Jan. 25-March 30, 1992.

"We have to try our best to make it tough on him but also make sure the other guys don't get off as well," Wade said of Rondo. "There are some things that we saw in that game that we can correct."

Celtics shoot past Heat, 115-107

By TIM REYNOLDS
Posted Apr 11 2012 12:18AM

MIAMI (AP) A week ago, the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat with defense. This time, they did it with offense.

Paul Pierce scored 27 points, Kevin Garnett added 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Celtics made their first eight shots of the fourth quarter to hold off the Heat 115-107 on Tuesday night.

Rajon Rondo posted double-digit assists for the 18th straight game, extending the NBA's longest such streak in 20 years with an 18-point, 15-assist effort. Brandon Bass added 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Avery Bradley scored 11 for the Celtics, who shot a season-high 61 percent and survived two possessions where Miami could have tied the score in the final quarter.

"We talk about it in fighting terms," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "We told them today before the game, you're in a boxing match, you expect to get hit. They're going to hit you. They did and we withstood it. I thought that was important for our team."

LeBron James finished with 36 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Miami, which got 20 from Dwyane Wade and 18 from Mario Chalmers. Chris Bosh finished with 13 on 5-for-13 shooting for Miami, which has gone 5-5 in its last 10 games.

The Celtics beat Miami 91-72 in Boston on April 1, a game the Heat called "unacceptable" after establishing season-lows in scoring and shooting.

This one won't sit much better with the reigning Eastern Conference champions, who ousted the Celtics in five games from last year's playoffs and could see them in the second round of the upcoming postseason. No team had shot better than 55 percent against the Heat this season, and Boston's 115 points were two shy of matching a season-high against Miami.

"We left Boston feeling awful at our performance," James said. "I don't feel as bad tonight. Those guys, they were locked in. Not only did they make their open shots, they made their contested shots. ... When you've got it going like that, just tip your hat off. We tip our hat off to them tonight. They won it."

Boston improved to 18-7 since the All-Star break, and dealt Miami a blow in the race for the No. 1 seed in the East. The Heat fell three games behind Chicago after the Bulls beat the New York Knicks later Tuesday night.

"It took a while," Rondo said, "but we're peaking at the right time."

A layup by Wade got Miami within 108-103 with 2:22 left, before Garnett made a high-arcing jumper that dropped softly through the net, his 11th make in 14 shots.

That pretty much described the night. Whenever Miami got close, the Celtics found a way to hold them off.

"It's a game of runs," Pierce said. "You have one of the best teams in the NBA at home. You know they're going to make a run. That's what makes them who they are. They know how to turn it on. We did a good job of holding their runs to a minimum."

Miami had two shots to tie early in the fourth after being down by as many as 18 earlier, before Garnett made jump shots on four straight possessions, the average length of those makes being 19 feet.

A 10-0 run early in the first quarter gave Boston a quick lead - and that wasn't even the Celtics' best run of the opening period. Boston scored the last 11 of the first, the run actually becoming 13-0 when Garnett scored to open the second quarter, and Boston's lead was 35-22.

Everything the Celtics wanted, they got. Boston shot 61 percent in the first quarter, 62 percent in the second. Rivers used eight players, all of them making multiple shots by halftime. Of them, the only one who failed to make at least half his shots was Bass, who more than made up for that with six first-half rebounds.

Here's how well the Celtics were shooting: Miami went into the break shooting 51 percent from the field, 60 percent from 3-point range and 78 percent from the foul line - and Boston was at least 10 percentage points better in every department.

"None of us were expecting that," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "To give up 115 points on our home floor, that's not our style. And we're being made to feel uncomfortable right now. That's really the residual of the last three weeks or so. This is probably the one silver lining out of it, is our group, staff and players, we're getting to know each other now on the level that is needed for us to prepare for the playoffs.

"We all know we have to take a real big step forward as a basketball team," Spoelstra added.

The next chance for that "big step" comes Thursday, when the Heat visit Chicago.

Down by 18 in the first half, Miami cut the deficit to 65-57 at halftime. James closed it with a 3, punching the air as the shot dropped.

Even with that, every moment of the second half was an uphill battle.

And the Celtics weren't being caught.

Miami got within five twice in the third, with Rondo answering both times to make it a three-possession game again. The Celtics held the Heat to 36 percent shooting in the quarter, keeping the eight-point lead entering the fourth at 89-81.

The Heat had two chances to tie early in the fourth, after starting the period on a 7-0 run. The first of those slipped away when Bosh failed to finish off a three-point play opportunity by missing from the line. The next came when Udonis Haslem missed from the left baseline with 9:17 left, and Boston's answer that time was absolute.

Allen made a catch-and-shoot 3 for a 94-89 lead, and then Garnett just took over.

"When they shoot like that, it's going to be tough to beat them," Wade said. "Obviously, we can always do things better. But give them credit."

NOTES: Alex Terrio, a fan wearing a Heat T-shirt, won a 2012 Kia Optima for making a halfcourt shot in between the third and fourth quarters. "Shock," Terrio said. ... James had 11 points in the third quarter for the third consecutive game. ... Hall of Fame quarterbacks Dan Marino and Jim Kelly were at the game, as was Chicago Bears star Julius Peppers.

Notebook: Celtics 115, Heat 107

Posted Tuesday April 10, 2012 10:57PM

By Shandel Richardson, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Boston Celtics proved what happened just nine days ago was no fluke.

The Celtics, after a slow start, recovered to defeat the Miami Heat 115-107 Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena. It was their second straight victory against the Heat.

Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 27 points while Kevin Garnett added 24 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. All five Boston starters scored in double-figures, including guard Rajon Rondo's 18 points and 15 assists.

The Celtics won on the strength of a strong first quarter. They led by as many as 18 in the second quarter before holding off several Heat runs. Boston had an answer each time the Heat made a small push.

For Miami, it was the second loss at home in three games after falling to the Memphis Grizzlies April 7. Forward LeBron James led the Heat with 36 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, but his supporting cast wasn't very much help. Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade combined to shoot 14 of 34 from the field and finished with 33 points.

QUOTABLE: "They jumped on us early. I thought Avery's (Bradley) two shots early in the game were huge for us because it kind of stemmed their run. Then we made a run, got a lead. They just kept throwing punches at us. We talk about it in a fighting term. We told them today before the game that if you're in a boxing match, you have to expect to get hit."
--Celtics coach Doc Rivers

THE STAT: The Celtics shot 60 percent from the field. Not only were they connecting on open shots, they also made several contested ones.

TURNING POINT: The Heat jumped to a fast 9-3 lead before the Celtics went on a 30-13 run to close the first quarter and take the lead for the good.

QUOTABLE II: "We're not at a period of concern. The team played well. They (Celtics) shot the ball very well. When they shoot like that, it's going to be tough to beat them."
-- Wade

HOT: Garnett showed glimpses of his younger days, playing dominant on both ends. He shot 11 of 14 from the field and grabbed nine rebounds. He also had two blocks and was disruptive in the paint on the defensive end.

NOT: Bosh continues to struggle against top-tier teams. He was a non-factor through three quarters before finally getting going in the fourth. By then, it was too late. He made just 5 of 13 shots and was outplayed by Boston forward Brandon Bass and center Greg Stiemsma.

GOOD MOVE: The Celtics used the recipe that has killed the Heat all season. They played with balance. The Heat have yet to win a game when the opposition utilized all its options, mainly the starters.

BAD MOVE: Coach Erik Spoelstra perhaps has tinkered with his rotation too much in recent games. This time, it may have hurt because he used the word "uncomfortable" to describe how the Heat looked. That's probably because he played 10 guys in the first half, altering the bottom half of the rotation.

NOTABLE: Heat centers Eddy Curry and Dexter Pitman were inactive. Celtics guard Ray Allen came of the bench for the fourth time in five games. Bradley has replaced him in the starting lineup. Heat rookie Norris Cole played just four minutes, continuing his downward spiral. The Heat are 5-5 in their last 10 games.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Thursday @ Bulls, Friday vs. Bobcats, Sunday @ Knicks. For the Celtics, Wednesday vs. Hawks, Friday @ Raptors, Saturday @ Nets.

• Celtics: O'Neal, Pietrus
• Heat: Curry, Pittman

• Celtics: --
• Heat: Wade

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
• Officials: #48 Scott Foster, #36 David Jones, #38 Michael Smith
• Attendance: 19954
• Duration: 2:28