Underdogs Boston Celtics defeat the Miami Heat without Rondo

BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 27: Courtney Lee #11 of the Boston Celtics goes up for a layup against the Miami Heat. The Celtics won 100-98.

How times change. The finalists of the 2010 NBA Finals are the underdogs of today. The Boston Celtics came into this one underdogs to start with. They have lost their last six games, the most in the Kevin Garnett era, even though Rajon Rondo came in having netted triple doubles in their last two losses. The Celtics did get a triple double in this one, from Paul Pierce. But they lost something much more valuable; as the game began, everyone was surprised when Rajon Rondo did not feature in the starting five. Slowly the news leaked, Rondo is possibly done for the season with a torn ACL. LeBron James was quoted as saying, “As much as I’ve been a rival with Boston over the years, I never want to see anyone go down. It’s terrible, not only for their team but for the league”. It seemed that Rondo’s loss, coupled with the ‘traitor’ Ray Allen coming to Boston for his first game, gave the Boston Celtics the edge they needed to defeat the Miami Heat. In a game of grit and passion which extended to double overtime, the Celtics held on one heroic play after another as the superior Heat tried to throttle them.

Role players step up

The Celtics got impressive production from Jared Sullinger – seven points and four rebounds in 22 minutes. Doc Rivers made the change to start Sullinger instead of Brandon Bass and it paid off. Jeff Green stepped up too – he had 11 points and 4 rebounds with an impressive dunk on the Heat. Jason Terry netted 13 points on 4-12 shooting, but missed a three which could have prevented overtime. Mario Chalmers, on the other hand, did not score a single point in 22 minutes of action.

Small forwards come up big

Paul Pierce did not shoot well, going only 6 of 16 from the field. But he made clutch shots and finished with a impressive triple double by getting 13 rebounds and 10 assists. He did have 6 turnovers; but he hit the go ahead jumper with 31 seconds left which helped Boston win this one. LeBron James almost had a triple double too, he finished with 34 points, 16 rebounds and 7 assists with 3 steals. James missed a jumper which could have won it for Miami with 7 seconds left. But he was the one who forced overtime with seven seconds left in regulation as he hit a three. Both small forwards played major minutes – Pierce logged 49 and James had 52.

Shooting guards come up small

Dwyane Wade only shot 6 of 20 in this one for 17 points. But he had 7 assists and a clutch steal which led to Ray Allen’s three-pointer with a minute in the game. Courtney Lee disappointed for the Celtics as he went 1-7 for only four points with 2 assists.

In the third quarter, Dwyane Wade was called on a travel which wasn’t actually a travel as the ball had been knocked loose. Now, that one possession could have changed the entire outcome of the game. This is a game which went into double overtime. Had that happened in the last minute, there would have been an outcry, but even though it happened in the third, its impact was the same on the game.

The Big Ticket

Kevin Garnett scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds with 4 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals. His clutch shooting helped stave off the Heat time and time again down the stretch. When the Heat lead 93-89 after a couple of baskets by James, Garnett hit a layup and sunk a jumper within 31 seconds to help bring the Celtics in it. He didn’t contain Bosh but he prevented an explosion from him as Bosh got 16 points while grabbing 16 rebounds. and shooting 7-12.

Homecoming

BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 27: Head coach Doc Rivers of the Boston Celtics and Ray Allen #34 of the Miami Heat greet each other during the game

“When I saw it, just all those emotions came streaming back from all the great things we did here. I’ll always be a Celtic in my mind. It was very weird. Going into the other locker room [was weird]. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on that side of the hallway. It was an adjustment. The whole year’s been an adjustment, being in Miami after being in Boston for so long. It was definitely a weird feeling for me.”- Ray Allen said.

Ray finished with 21 points in his first game as a Heat in Boston. He only shot 7-17 though and had five rebounds and zero assists.

This was a back and forth affair with 19 lead changes and 20 ties. “You can write the obituary. I’m not. You can go ahead, but I’m not. We won tonight, so, the way I look at is, we’re going to stay in there.“- Doc Rivers on the possibility of the season being lost without Rondo.

Boston improved to 21-23 for the season and is shoring up the 8th play-off spot in the East. It remains to be seen if they will make a trade before Feb 21.

FINAL SCORE: Celtics 100- 98 Heat

Here are the game highlights-