Heat-Celtics Preview

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Posted Jun 02 2012 7:56PM

BOSTON (AP) Everywhere Dwyane Wade turned, two Boston Celtics seemed to be waiting.

And as long as Chris Bosh is out, he understands it's probably going to stay that way. The Celtics can double-team him without fear, knowing LeBron James is the only other Miami player who can consistently hurt them.

Wade scored only 18 points Friday in the Heat's 101-91 loss in Game 3, snapping his streak of 12 straight 20-point playoff games against Boston that was the longest since Jerry West had 18 in a row from 1966-69.

Wade isn't expecting Bosh back from his lower abdominal strain Sunday in Game 4, so the scheme probably won't change. But he vows that his performance will.

"I'm not coming here crying," he said Saturday. "I can score the basketball, I've just got to find other ways to do that. It might not be a 41-point effort like it was in Indiana, you never know what each game takes, but I'm just going to go out here and play the game that I played for so many years and I will find a way to be effective."

Wade shot 9 of 20 in his second-lowest scoring performance of this postseason, after a five-point effort in Game 3 of the second round against Indiana. He was struggling with knee pain then, but insisted there was nothing wrong physically now.

The only problem, he said, was the two defenders closing on him whenever he came off a pick or caught the ball anywhere near the lane. He was also largely contained in Game 2, managing only 15 points in regulation before scoring eight in overtime to help the Heat pull out a 115-111 victory.

"As a team, we have to figure out ways to exploit the double team," James said. "As his teammates, we've got to make ourselves available to make plays for ourselves, and also when the double team is not there early on offense, we've got to get the ball to him early so he can attack without a double team."

Wade didn't attempt a free throw for the first time in a playoff game since 2004, when he was a rookie, and managed just six points on 3-of-9 shooting in the first half. Still, he was far from the only problem for the Heat.

"You look at all the effort areas we dominated the first two games, we got our butt kicked in all of them last night," said coach Erik Spoelstra, rolling through the list quickly as if afraid he'd forget one if he stopped for a breath.

"Points in the paint, they pounded us. Rebounding, they pounded us. Free throws, they beat us. Layup attempts, they beat us. Every area that has to do with toughness and effort we lost, and in the first two games we were winning those categories. Loose balls, 50-50 opportunities."

That's because the Celtics realized that's the only way they can beat such a talented opponent.

"I just thought Game 3 was more of a desperation game and we have to play like that," Kevin Garnett said. "We have to get these two at home by any means necessary and then deal with whatever after that. I felt like the way we played in Game 3 is the way we have to play. This team is too athletic, too good, too confident, too well coached, too well-sound defensively."

Garnett scored 24 points, the Celtics taking advantage of an undersized Heat lineup without Bosh by repeatedly throw it into their center near the rim. With Rajon Rondo adding 21 points and 10 assists, it's becoming clear they've found two matchups they can exploit.

Yet they were far from satisfied just by taking a game. They were in this same spot last year in the second round, losing two in Miami before winning Game 3 at home. But they dropped Game 4 in their building in overtime and were sent into the summer in Game 5.

The Celtics' veterans all said they remembered nothing about it - more likely ignoring it than a case of old guys suddenly losing their memories. But Ray Allen did say the Celtics seem to have a better idea of what it takes to beat the Heat this year.

"We're still down one game in this series, so we've only done one thing. We've won one game. We have to come back, we have to play better. I still think we can play better," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "That's the first thing I told them after the game. I said, `Great win, but that's still not our best.' We have to play better and we can play better."

So can Wade, though he knows the Celtics will make it difficult. At some point, Bosh may be back and the Heat will be a Big Three again. In the meantime, Wade will keep seeing double.

"Like I said, it's no secret, guys," Wade told reporters before practice. "I'm getting doubled at the top of the key. I'm getting doubled in the paint, so let's not shoot a turnaround jump shot all the time, which is not a good shot for our team. We're going to have to find other ways for our team to loosen things up. And eventually, I'm a patient person, so eventually things will hopefully loosen up and I can get my opportunities where I can attack and get in a rhythm a little more."

---

Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney

Celtics beat Heat 93-91 in OT, tie series at 2-2

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Posted Jun 04 2012 4:58AM

BOSTON (AP) The Celtics' big lead gone and leading scorer along with it, Rajon Rondo had a message for Kevin Garnett.

"It's time," Rondo said. "We have to take the game over."

And when that still left the Miami Heat with a final chance, the Celtics turned to an old Garden ghost as Dwyane Wade launched a 3-pointer that would have won it.

"Red wasn't going to let that go in, you know that," coach Doc Rivers said, referring to longtime Celtics boss Red Auerbach. "Not in the Boston Garden."

It didn't, moving the Celtics two wins from an improbable chance to play for another championship.

Rondo had 15 points and 15 assists, and scored the final three points of the Celtics' 93-91 overtime victory on Sunday night that evened the Eastern Conference finals at two games apiece.

Getting a huge break when LeBron James fouled out for the first time since joining the Heat, the Celtics recovered after blowing an 18-point lead in regulation and need two victories for a third trip to the NBA finals in five years.

Garnett added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Celtics, while Paul Pierce scored 23 points before fouling out. Ray Allen finished with 16 points.

James had 29 points and Wade scored 20 after another dismal start for the Heat, who host Game 5 on Tuesday.

"Not stressed the series is tied 2-2," James said. "It's great basketball, great competition. We wanted to get one up here and we didn't."

In a game that started as a Celtics blowout and turned into a foul- and tension-filled fourth quarter, followed by the second overtime in this series, the Celtics held on when Wade missed a potential winning 3-pointer on the last possession.

"It was a good look. It was online but didn't want to go in," Wade said. "Got the shot off I wanted and that is all you can ask for."

Mickael Pietrus drew James' sixth foul and grabbed two huge offensive rebounds that created a lengthy possession for the Celtics, who lost Game 4 in overtime in a second-round series against the Heat last year with a chance to tie the series.

This time, they overcame their second-half stall on the offensive end by limiting the Heat to just one basket in overtime, by Udonis Haslem, who finished with 12 points and 17 rebounds.

"At the end you have a chance to win after 50-plus minutes and losing the MVP. Hey, you'll take that," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Rondo's layup gave the Celtics a 92-91 lead with 2:34 left, and neither team scored again until he made a free throw with 21 seconds to play. Wade, already finding it tough to locate any room with Chris Bosh out and then having to do it with James also on the sideline, saw his potential winning attempt bounce off the rim as time expired.

"I don't ever think I've seen that before," Allen said of James and Pierce fouling out. "But Rondo's on the floor, I'm on the floor, Kevin's on the floor, Wade's on the floor. All that has to happen at that point is the game has to be won. We don't care what it looks like. We had plenty."

In what could have been the final Beantown game for the Celtics' Big Three, Boston scored 61 points in a sensational first half that concluded with some televised trash talk from Rondo. But the Celtics managed only 12 points in the third quarter, and Wade finally got going after managing just eight points on 2-of-11 shooting in the first half.

"Our execution in the first half was flawless," Rivers said. "It was as good as maybe we've had. And then we just got away from it."

With the Celtics down by two, Pierce and Rondo made consecutive layups for an 85-83 edge with 3:08 to go in regulation. But with the Celtics up three, they lost James, who was wide open with plenty of time to set himself for a 3-pointer that evened it at 89 with 37.5 seconds left.

Garnett was called for an offensive foul on the next possession, giving the Heat the ball back with 21 seconds left. But they passed it around too long, leaving them with a long forced attempt from Haslem that was well off before the buzzer.

The videoboard kept encouraging fans to get louder, as if they needed any prompting in what could have been the final time they got to watch the Big Three together.

Fans who left and stayed away for years during the Celtics' lean years started coming back in the 2007-08 season after Garnett and Allen were traded to Boston to form join an All-Star trio with Pierce, the Garden almost always full as the Celtics won a championship, played in two finals and returned the franchise back to its traditional place atop the East.

But the aging group was nearly broken up when the Celtics sputtered through the first half of the shortened season, and it seems doubtful they'll be back together after this season.

There's still work to be done first.

The fans grew even louder when the Celtics ran out to a 14-4 lead after consecutive 3-pointers by Pierce and Allen. The Celtics went to Garnett for their next two baskets, pushing it to 18-4, and when Pierce's 3-pointer made it 21-6, it was the third time in four games they had a lead of at least 15 points.

And after leading the Celtics to the highest-scoring half the Heat have surrendered this postseason, Rondo even fired a shot at the visitors, saying in his televised halftime interview what was working for Boston was the Heat "complaining and crying to the referees in transition."

The feisty point guard didn't back down after the game, either.

"What I said was true," Rondo said. "I don't take back what I said. That's what it is."

It was so hard for the Heat early that James didn't even make his first basket - the Celtics accidentally tipped in his miss, and it was credited to him as the closest player. But Miami finally got untracked when Garnett left for a rest, getting a number of easy baskets to get within six before the Celtics regained control and went ahead 34-23 after one.

The Celtics made 16 of their first 25 shots and seemed intent on outhustling the Heat to the ball on the rare times they did miss. And the Heat, who insisted they would be more aggressive, didn't shoot their first free throw until James was fouled while making a basket with 6:53 remaining in the first half.

Boston pushed the lead to 18 when Pierce shook off a foul and tossed in a long, one-legged jumper with 3:12 left in the second quarter, and the Celtics were ahead 61-47 at the break.

The Celtics averaged 89.1 points on 44 percent shooting in an ugly second-round survival against Philadelphia, then managed a measly 79 points in the opener of this series, the old guys looking like their best basketball was well behind them. They seemed to have solved their offensive woes, then managed only 12 points in the third quarter, losing Rondo along the way to his fourth foul.

It was down to 73-68 after three, and the Heat tied it for the first time when James' layup made it 74-all with 8:54 remaining. Norris Cole's layup on the next possession gave Miami the lead for the first time and it stayed tight from there.

NOTES: Bosh missed his ninth straight game with a lower abdominal strain. Spoelstra said his status is still out indefinitely. ... The Heat changed centers again, starting Joel Anthony. ... James said there's no playoff silence or anything else behind his absence from Twitter. James, who has more than 4.6 million followers, hasn't posted on the site since April 27, the day before the playoffs began. "My fans, I'm still with them, but I haven't been on there," he said.

---

Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney

Notebook: Celtics 93, Heat 91

Posted Monday June 4, 2012 1:46AM

By Brian Robb, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Dwyane Wade missed an open 3-pointer as time expired, allowing the Boston Celtics to escape with a 95-93 overtime win over the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. With the victory, Boston has tied up the series at 2-2, rallying from a 2-0 deficit. Paul Pierce had a team-high 23 points for the hosts, who led by as many as 18 points in the first half and had put up 61 points by halftime. The Celtics cooled off in the second half though, the Heat fought back to tie the game behind the outstanding play of LeBron James (29 points) early in the fourth quarter, before sending the game into overtime. Both James and Pierce fouled out in overtime, as Boston's defense tightened up late limiting Miami to just two points over the five minute extra session to hold on for the victory.

QUOTABLE: "It was on line. It was all you can ask for. I got my legs on the middle and shot it, it just decided it didn't want to go in."
-- Wade on missing the potential game-winner as time expired

THE STAT: Boston had 17 second-chance points against Miami's undersized lineup. That's their highest total in a game this postseason.

TURNING POINT: James was whistled for his sixth personal foul with 1:51 remaining in overtime. It was the first time James had fouled out as a member of the Miami Heat and his absence left the visitors with a huge hole in their offense, as they were unable to score for the remainder of the contest without the reigning league MVP.

QUOTABLE II: "Red [Auerbach] wasn't going to let that in, you know that. Not in Boston Garden."
-- Doc Rivers on Wade's potential game-winner

HOT: Pierce -- The Celtics' captain came out firing on all cylinders in the first half, where he scored 18 of his 23 points on the night, leading the way as Boston built up a 14-point lead at intermission.

NOT: Wade -- The shooting guard struggled mightily with his offense for the majority of Game 4. The veteran missed 15 of his 22 shot attempts, and turned the ball over four times. Wade finished with 20 points.

QUOTABLE III: "I told Kevin [Garnett], it's time. We have to take the game over. I didn't look at Ray [Allen] and tell him, but he knew what time it was."
-- Rondo on what he said to his teammates after Pierce fouled out

INSIDE THE ARENA: The Boston Celtics had plenty of fan support yet again from the New England Patriots, as head coach Bill Belichick, as well as players Rob Gronkowski, Vince Wilfork, and Wes Welker watched Game 4 from courtside.

ROOKIE WATCH: Norris Cole -- Miami's rookie out of Cleveland State saw his most action of the series Sunday night, scoring five points and added two assists off the bench over 12 minutes.

NOTABLE: Chris Bosh missed his ninth straight game with a strained abdominal. He remains day-to-day, according to head coach Erik Spoelstra. ... This was the first playoff overtime loss in Miami Heat history. The Heat were 6-0 all-time in playoff overtime games before the loss in Game 4. ... Boston has now won 20 of their last 22 games at home. ... After the first quarter, the Celtics shot just 22-of-63 (34.9 percent) from the field for the rest of the game. ... Udonis Haslem delivered a postseason-high 17 rebounds, along with 12 points. ... Garnett had another double-double for the Celts' with 17 points and 14 , along with five blocks. ... Joel Anthony made his first start of the series for Miami at center and finished with two points and three rebounds in 13 minutes. Ronny Turiaf had started the first three games, and did not play in Game 4.

UP NEXT: Game 5: Tuesday June 6th: Boston @ Miami 8:30 p.m. ET

• Heat: Bosh, Curry
• Celtics: Bradley, Johnson

• Heat: --
• Celtics: Rondo

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: TD Garden, Boston, MA
• Officials: #17 Joe Crawford, #55 Bill Kennedy, #57 Greg Willard
• Attendance: 18624
• Duration: 3:01