Garnett and Celtics Turn Down The Heat
By bpaul
After playing close to a full game of “Celtics Basketball” against the Raptors Friday night the Celtics headed into Miami tonight hoping to add to the win column. This game was the first game of a four game road trip for the C’s and they really needed to grab a win to keep the train rolling for the rest of the road trip. The Celtics survived the Heat’s attempts to steal a victory and took the win 92-85.
The Celtics first quarter tonight against the Heat was an exact replica of what we saw in the first quarter against Toronto. The Celtics seemed to leave the defense they played in the second half against Toronto back in Boston. The Celtics got off to another great shooting night, shooting 75% from the floor in the first quarter; however, they still trailed 31-29 at the end of one.
In the second quarter we saw the brand of Celtics basketball that we expect to see on a nightly basis. The Celtics got their defense shipped FedEx express from Boston to Miami and used it during the second quarter. The Celtics outscored the Heat 26-17 in the quarter to take a seven point, 55-48, lead into the locker room.
Following a tremendous second quarter of basketball we were all hoping the Celtics could put the game away quick in the third quarter. After all, the third quarter seemed to be our best quarter at the start of the season. The Celtics came out of the locker room and put up four quick points to increase the lead to 59-48. Unfortunately this lead did not last for long; The Celtics started to let Miami play their game and as a result Miami clawed back into the game. Led by Dwayne Wade, with 10 points in the quarter, the heat trailed by only two (67-65) at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was a quarter full of lead swaps and tie games. Michael Beasley jump started the Heat’s fourth quarter effort by dropping in the first 12 points for the team. The Heat got the lead up to five points before the Celtics turned up the Heat, no pun intended. The Celtics tied the game back up at 76 with a layup by Rondo with a second left on the shot clock. From 76 to 84 the two teams continued swapping leads until the Celtics took the lead for good, 89-83, with a Ray Allen three pointer with 1:38 left in the game.
If we were to give a player of the game award tonight it would have to go to the Big Ticket, Kevin Garnett. (In fact he was the Hardwood Houdini Player of The Week) Garnett has been on fire of late making 17 of 18 shots in the past two games. Tonight KG had 24 points, most of these jumpers seemed to come at times tonight when we really needed a basket and KG came through. There is still a lot of debate about whether he is back or not. I’m going to go ahead and say KG is back. He may not be the same KG we are use to but right now he is helping this team tremendously.
Kendrick Perkins used the under-sized Heat team to his advantage tonight scoring 14 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. All the Celtics starters were in double figures tonight, Pierce, Rondo, and Ray Allen scored 15, 13, and 11 respectively.
The most important news is that the Celtics started the road trip off right. Like Shelden Williams tweeted earlier, you can’t win them all if you don’t win the first one. Let’s move onto Charlotte Tuesday and grab number two.
(Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)