They say the really good teams find a way to win even when they don’t play their best. We submit to you this game as evidence that the Celtics are a really good team.
After trailing by as many as 12 in the first half, and by three points early in the fourth, Boston closed the game on a 22-7 run to beat Miami, 101-89. The Celtics outscored the Heat 29-19 in the fourth quarter.
The win puts the Cs two games ahead of Miami for the third seed and gives them the season tiebreaker over the Heat with one matchup still to come (on the final night of the season). The Celtics’ record is now 35-25 and they’ve won 10 straight at home.
The Celtics had six men in double figures, led by Marcus Smart’s 15. Evan Turner provided leadership with 14 points and nine assists, and Jared Sullinger posted a strong 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
For Miami, Goran Dragic and Dwayne Wade combined for 40 points, while Hassan Whiteside had 13 points, 15 boards and eight immense blocks.
With a 3 p.m. tipoff, the Celts started as if they were still taking an afternoon nap. They missed six of their first seven shots to fall behind, 8-2, causing Brad Stevens to call timeout after just four minutes. It didn’t get much better as they finished the quarter shooting 7 of 22 with six turnovers, most of them ugly and careless. Miami led, 26-18, going to the second.
The Celtics bounced back with a 9-0 run to tie at 28, led by Turner, who had two hoops – including a reverse dunk – and two assists. Boston briefly took a lead before Miami went back ahead for the rest of the quarter. A trey by Avery Bradley drew the Celts to within 49-46 at intermission. ET finished the half with 11 points and six assists. Meanwhile, Whiteside was a force for Miami, with four blocks in the half.
The Garden was a happier place after half. The Celtics used an 11-0 burst highlighted, by an and-one by Amir Johnson, to take a 57-52 lead. Two minutes later, Amir and Sullinger teamed up to stuff not one, not two, but three straight layup attempts by Amar’e Stoudemire. The Celts managed to build a six-point lead late in the quarter, but Goran Dragic hit a three and a two to keep the Heat close. It was 72-70, Celtics, heading to the fourth.
The Heat went ahead briefly early in the fourth, then the lead swung back and forth. Smart and Jonas Jerebko both hit from the arc, then Whiteside missed a dunk and the Cs pushed it the other way for a Tyler Zeller jam (assist by Turner) and an 86-82 advantage.
A huge possession came with Boston up by six and under three minutes to play. Crowder missed from deep but Sully simply ripped the rebound from Whiteside’s hands. Smart was then fouled shooting a triple and made all three free throws for a 93-84 lead.
After Wade made two free throws, IT drove the lane for a scoop layup, then stole the ball from Dragic, leading to a sneakaway for Crowder and an 11-point lead. Ballgame.
The Green:
- After the starters struggled in the early minutes, Zeller helped keep Boston close with six first-quarter points off the bench.
- The bench carried the Cs in the first half, scoring 29 points on combined 12 of 20 shooting.
- Brad now has 100 wins as the Cs head coach.
The Gross:
- The first half was brutal for the starters, who combined to shoot 6 of 26 and had just 17 points total. Thomas went 0 for 8 and had two of his shots blocked. And the Cs finished the half with zero fast break points, bad news for a team that relies on a fast pace (although they finished with 14).
- Whiteside committed an obvious offensive goaltend while tipping in a miss late in the third, and yet somehow all three refs failed to notice.
- Bradley turned his ankle in the fourth but was able to return after a rest.
The Greenlights:
Block party
ET to Zeller
Gimme that!
The Grid:
- 2nd Chance Points: Heat 16 (7/13), Celtics 22 (8/12)
- Shooting: Heat 41.4% (36-87), Celtics 40.6% (39-96)
- Despite Whiteside’s interior dominance, he finished a game-worst -17 in +/-, while the Celts also scored 58 points in the paint.
- Heat were again without Chris Bosh due to his ongoing blood clot problems, and had not yet officially signed Joe Johnson.
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