The first 36 minutes of the game looked like a repeat of too many Celtics' regular season games. The C's shot out to an early lead, stretch it out (to 21 at one point in the 3rd), tire out, then fall out. But the End Game was different in the postseason. When the Heat came back from down 21, shrinking the deficit to 3 at one point, the Celtics turned off the cruise control and stepped on the gas.
Maybe they really were just saving themselves for the postseason.
Dwyane Wade had 31 points, and Mario Chalmers had an electrifying 20 off the bench for Miami. But the rest of the Heat were ice cold. Meanwhile, the C's got 24 from Ray Ray, 21 from Pierce, 16 from Rondo (plus 12 assists and 8 rebounds), and 14 from KG (plus 8 boards). The Celtics' team beat the Heats' individuals.
11 of Ray Allen's 24 points came in the 4th quarter. 5 of Glen Davis' 7 also came in the 4th.
The officiating was inconsistent, but it seemed to even out for both teams. Both Miami and the Celtics were 19 of 22 from the line.
This is the 3rd straight season that the Celtics have advanced beyond the playoffs' opening round. That hasn't happened since 1988.
It's also nice that the Celtics didn't have to go 7 games, or play any overtime in this series, unlike the last two seasons' opening round series.
It's waiting time as both the Celtics and Cavaliers await their 2nd round matchup.
Photo Credit:
Getty Images
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