There will absolutely never be a better time for LeBron James and the Miami Heat to knock off the Boston Celtics than yesterday afternoon.
The Celts are losing players seemingly daily and are just trying to hang on (one more game) until the All-Star break next weekend.
It was very ugly but Boston (39-14) came through with perhaps its biggest victory of the regular season over Miami (39-15), 85-82.
With the win, the Cs moved to 3-0 against the Heat this season. Boston vaulted ahead of Miami to the top of the Eastern Conference and these teams will only meet one more time (April 10 in South Beach) in the regular season. Gee, do you think they'll play each other in the playoffs?
Rajon Rondo led the Celts with 11 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds while Kevin Garnett had 19 points. Kendrick Perkins notched 15 points and Ray Allen had 13 points.
With only two players that played significant minutes off the bench, Glen Davis (16 points) and Von Wafer (10 points) showed up in a big spot.
Chris Bosh paced the Heat with 24 points and 10 rebounds, LeBron added 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while Dwyane Wade was held to 16 points.
Miami led 20-15 after the first quarter and 43-39 at the half as it looked like injuries and old legs would be an easy out for a poor performance.
However, Boston played outstanding in the third quarter (35-18) which enabled them to hold on for a rocky fourth (21-11 Miami).
LeBron had a chance to tie it with two free throws with 12 seconds left but he bricked the first one and made the second. Finally, Mike Miller (who is a great shooter) had a wide-open look on a 3-pointer but he missed it as time ran out.
Paul Pierce was 0-for-10 and only had one point but an MRI on his left foot today was negative, meaning he'll play on Wednesday when the Celtics host the New Jersey Nets. Delonte West is expected to return and hopefully, Boston can hold the fort before the Big Four and Doc Rivers head to LA for the All-Star festivities.
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