The Heat got a crazy few minutes from Michael Beasley to put a scare in Boston early in the fourth, but it was all Celtics after that.
That’s four straight wins after a 3-4 slump for Boston and it came in solid fashion.
A few numbers:
– Kevin Garnett makes 11-of-12 shots and is now 17-of-18 over his last two-plus games.
– Boston follows up a 62.3-percent shooting effort by going 36-of-69 (52.2 percent) from the floor.
– Rajon Rondo had 13 points and 11 assists for his fourth double-double in his last six games.
– Dwyane Wade leads the way for the Heat with 27 points, six assists and five boards.
The C’s have a day off before visiting Charlotte on Tuesday. We will be following that one live for you so make sure to check in.
And check back soon for a Garnett feature that breaks down his resurgence.
Fourth quarter, 38.3 seconds, Celtics 91-85: Kevin Garnett gives the Celtics more breathing room with a long jumper. He now has 24 points on 11-of-12 shooting.
Fourth quarter, 49.8 seconds, Celtics 89-85: For all the struggles of the Celtics on the line, the Heat have been worse.
With a chance to pull his team within two points, Jermaine O’Neal just bricked a pair and Miami is now 17-of-27 from the line.
The Celts have a chance to make this a six-point game or better after the break.
Fourth quarter, 1:38, Celtics 89-83: You have to feel good for Ray Allen after he hits a huge 3-pointer to offset an otherwise difficult game.
The Celtics are on an 11-1 run during which four players have scored. The one who has not, Rajon Rondo, has assists on four baskets.
That’s the definition of balance.
Fourth quarter, 2:58, 82-82: Kevin Garnett had a bit of a quiet stretch before re-tying the game with a little hook in the lane.
Garnett is 9-of-10 and has reached the 20-point mark for the first time in 10 games.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again – it would be nice to see a heavy dose of Paul Pierce down the stretch.
Fourth quarter, 4:54, Heat 80-78: Ray Allen could be distracted tonight with the condition of his young son, which would be understandable.
He is now 4-of-11 from the floor and 0-of-5 from the arc. Interestingly enough, Allen has played seven more minutes than any other Celtic.
Fourth quarter, 6:16, 76-76: Rajon Rondo took this game over for a stretch in the second quarter and is beginning to do so again in the fourth.
Rondo has back-to-back hoops to pull the Celtics back into a tie game.
He also had an assist on a big 3-pointer by Brian Scalabrine that kicked off the C’s current 7-2 run.
No Heat player other than Michael Beasley has scored this quarter and he finally made a mistake by dribbling a ball off his leg.
Fourth quarter, 8:55, Heat 74-69: It is Michael Beasley and a bunch of other guys running around out there.
Beasley has all nine of the Heat’s points in the fourth quarter and drew a foul before the commercial break.
The Celtics have two missed free throws and a turnover in the early part of the fourth and are in danger of suffering what would be a pretty bad loss considering how much they were dominating early in the third.
Fourth quarter, 9:26, Heat 70-69: Michael Beasley has a dunk and a 3-pointer here in the fourth to give Miami its first lead in nearly two quarters.
Before the 3-pointer Marquis Daniels missed two free throws. The Celtics are 1-of-7 from the line since the end of the first quarter.
They were 11-of-12 in the first. Talk about a killer.
Fourth quarter, 11:55, Celtics 67-65: Doc Rivers sends out Eddie House, Marquis Daniels, Brian Scalabrine Paul Pierce and Rasheed Wallace to start the fourth.
End of third quarter, Celtics 67-65: The Heat had multiple chances to take their first lead since midway through the second quarter but could not get a few shots to fall.
Still, they outscored the Celtics 17-8 down the stretch in the third and it is anyone’s game in the final 12 minutes.
Boston had one basket in a span of seven minutes, 47 seconds of the third. It is now 3-of-15 from 3-point range and just 12-of-17 from the line.
Third quarter, 3:55, 62-62: Whenever the Celtics are going bad they are often failing to get the ball to Paul Pierce, and that is the case here in the third.
After taking a 3-pointer to open the quarter, Pierce has managed to get off just one shot.
Of course, that is not the only problem. Miami is the more aggressive team on every front here in the third and its surge now sits at 14-3 after Michael Beasley’s dunk.
By the way, Ray Allen has hit the side of the backboard in both of the last two games. He is now 0-of-3 from 3-point range and continues to struggle.
Third quarter, 5:32, Celtics 62-58: Kendrick Perkins throws down a dunk to finish a wild sequence that saw both teams scramble for the ball.
However, that is the only basket for Boston amid a 10-2 Miami run and Perkins just missed two free throws.
Third quarter, 8:00, Celtics 59-53: Kevin Garnett finally misses after 14 straight made shots.
The Celtics media guide does not have a record listed in that category so we don’t know where Garnett’s streak ranks.
More importantly, after Garnett’s miss Dwyane Wade scored his second straight hoop and the Celts are forced to call a timeout.
Third quarter, 9:50, Celtics 59-48: Ray Allen hits a leaner to start the scoring in the third and Kevin Garnett hits another shot to extend his streak.
The Heat are beginning to look a bit lost on the offensive end of things as for the first time in four games Boston has a sustained run of dominant defense.
Halftime, Celtics 55-48: That is now 13 straight made shots by Kevin Garnett as he gets a follow to go seconds before the buzzer.
Garnett’s 6-of-6 effort in the first half has fueled a 63 percent showing for the Celtics, who take their largest lead into the break.
Overall it was a 17-7 run for Boston to close the half and Paul Pierce missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would’ve made it a double-digit affair.
Garnett and Pierce have combined for 26 points.
Rajon Rondo and Eddie House both have three fouls for the C’s. Something to watch in the second half.
Second quarter, 1:52, Celtics 51-45: Rajon Rondo continues to take this one over.
He has factored into five of the C’s last six baskets with seven points and a pair of assists.
Second quarter, 3:17, 47-43: The Celtics’ only two 3-pointers are courtesy of Marquis Daniels and Rajon Rondo, who both entered with one apiece all season.
Rasheed Wallace and Paul Pierce, who entered with a combined 58, have taken and missed the team’s other three 3-point attempts.
Go figure.
Rondo’s ‘3’ beat the buzzer on the shot clock moments ago, and he followed it up with back-to-back hoops to give the C’s their biggest lead.
Second quarter, 5:45, Heat 41-38: The C’s have missed two shots and two free throws since Rasheed Wallace threw down a dunk.
Boston has already taken 14 free throws, making 11.
Second quarter, 8:26, Celtics 36-35: A nice little 7-2 burst by the C’s, capped by a rare 3-pointer for Marquis Daniels.
That is just the second 3-pointer of the season for Daniels and the 75th of his seven-year career.
Shelden Williams recorded a rare assist on the play, too. Williams has 10 assists this season and 85 in his career.
Second quarter, 10:30, Heat 33-29: This arena has to be one of the leaders in terms of canned noise.
The music during play rarely ceases and the PA announcer is over-the-top.
All 26 fans are apparently loving it.
A note on Kevin Garnett. He has actually made 10 straight shots going back to the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s win over Philly.
End of first quarter, Heat 31-29: Fresh off a 62.3 percent shooting effort in Friday’s win over Toronto, the Celtics are 9-of-12 through the first quarter.
Yet, as was the case against the Raptors, Boston has failed to get any separation and in fact trails this one.
Following a slow start Dwyane Wade is eating up the C’s. He had nine points, three assists and two rebounds in the last nine minutes of the quarter.
By the way, Kevin Garnett is 9-of-9 over the last two games. I’ll see if that streak goes back any further.
First quarter, 1:26, Heat 30-27: Rasheed Wallace is one of the few guys who can pick up a technical even after he scores, as he just did.
This one was a little cheap, however, as I have yet to see an NBA player not call for a foul on a basket this season. That’s all Wallace did.
First quarter, 2:28, Heat 26-23: Paul Pierce will get a chance to snap a little 5-0 burst by the Heat after the break when he goes to the line for two shots.
The Celtics have become a bit sloppy here. Since Kevin Garnett hit a jumper to give them a 21-19 lead, they have gone over two minutes without a basket while turning the ball over twice.
First quarter, 5:39, Celtics 19-17: Quite a little run there by Joel Anthony, who came off the bench early to spell Jermaine O’Neal after O’Neal committed two early fouls.
Anthony proceeded to pick up three fouls of his own and the Celts are making a living at the line, where they are 7-of-8.
First quarter, 5:57, Celtics 17-16: This one is looking a lot like other recent outings for the Celts, who are scoring early and often but not doing much on the other end to stop their opponents.
The teams are a combined 12-of-16 from the floor.
First quarter, 7:41, Heat 12-11: It took Dwyane Wade nearly a full quarter to score in the Heat’s loss to Washington the other night and nearly three minutes went by in this one before he got a shot off, missing on a 21-footer.
No real issue for Miami early on, however, as the rest of the team is 3-of-5 and Michael Beasley just buried a 3-pointer.
Wade then follows that up with his first hoop.
First quarter, 10:55, Heat 4-0: Not a good start here for Kendrick Perkins.
Jermaine O’Neal has hit two shots over Perkins already and also drew a foul against the C’s big man in a rebounding battle.
First quarter, 11:55, 0-0: Underway from a sparsely settled AmericanAirlines Arena, where Miami is 6-4 this season.
Boston, meanwhile, is 5-1 on the road. Including this one, the C’s play seven of their next eight games away from home.
5:37 p.m.: We are about a half-hour from the start of the Celtics’ four-game road trip and it looks like the lineups are in.
Ray Allen, whose son was in the hospital this weekend, will get the start for Boston alongside Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins.
Tony Allen, who had practiced with the second team Saturday while Allen was unavailable, remains inactive.
The Heat go with Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers at guard, James Jones and Michael Beasley at forward and Jermaine O’Neal underneath.
11:17 a.m. Ray Allen is expected to be available when the Celtics visit the Miami Heat at 6:00 p.m. inside AmericanAirlines Arena. We will be following all the action right here so be sure to check back.
Allen, who had a team-high 20 points in a 116-103 win over Toronto on Friday, left the team to be with his ailing 2-year-old son, Walker. According to reports, the elder Allen spent a night in a hospital with his son, who was diagnosed with diabetes during the 2008 NBA Finals.Team officials said Allen was able to fly to Miami with the team Saturday.
Against the Raptors, Allen made three 3-pointers for just the second time all season (he did so 34 times in 2008-09) and reached the 20-point mark for only the third time. It was part of an effort that saw Boston shoot a season-high 62.3 percent from the floor and force a season-high 25 turnovers.
Since scoring just 78 points in a loss to Orlando on Nov. 20, the C’s lowest output this season, they have averaged 112.0 a game in winning three straight.
The Heat fell to Washington on Wednesday at home, 94-84. Mario Chalmers scored 20 points in the setback. Dwyane Wade was limited to 18 in nearly 39 minutes, only the second time all season he has been held to under 20 points.
The loss was the fourth in six games following a 7-2 start for Miami. It has also lost three of its last five at home. Coach Erik Spoelstra said after the loss that the Heat need to fine tune some things to get some better looks for Wade, who has shot 39 percent in his last six games.
Swingman Quentin Richardson, out for four games with back spasms, is expected to return for Miami.
The C’s have taken eight of the last nine meetings between the teams.
