Celtics at Heat
THE STORY: The Miami Heat struck the first blow - now the pressure is on the Boston Celtics to respond. Dwyane Wade got some scoring help from an unlikely source in Game 1, and the Heat managed to jump out early and avoid the struggles that have plagued them at the end of close games en route to a 99-90 victory Sunday. The Celtics saw their leader shown the door and got sub-par performances from two of their All-Stars in their disappointing setback. Miami will be looking to put Boston in an even bigger hole when it hosts Game 2 on Tuesday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE HEAT: Miami won Game 1 in the first half when Wade went for 23 of his 38 points and the defense held the Celtics to less than 36 percent shooting en route to a 51-36 lead at the break. Every time it looked as though Boston would make a charge late, Wade responded. He converted a three-point play after the Celtics had cut it to 10 with 7:03 left and made spectacular plays down the stretch. LeBron James added 22 points, but it was James Jones who really confounded Boston's defense as he came off the bench to hit 5-of-7 3-point attempts and 10-of-10 free throws for 25 points.
ABOUT THE CELTICS: Ray Allen kept Boston in the game by hitting five 3-pointers and finishing with 25 points. But just as the Celtics looked poised to make another push, Paul Pierce was ejected with 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter. The All-Star set a hard screen on Wade, which drew a double technical for both players, and then said something that got him tossed. With Pierce gone, and Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett combining for 14 points, the Celtics did not have it at the end. Rondo, who should be Boston’s biggest advantage going against Mike Bibby on the other side, finished with seven assists and five turnovers.
WHO’S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Chris Bosh was the lone member of Miami’s Big Three to struggle Sunday with seven points on 3-of 10 shooting. Garnett was held to six points on 3-of-9 shooting, and did not get to the free throw line.
KEY STATISTIC: The 3-point barrage extended down both benches in Game 1. The Celtics connected on 12-of-24 attempts from beyond the arc and the Heat converted 9-of-19. Whichever team figures out how to defend the arc will have a leg up in Game 2.
LAST WORD: “We’re going to have to fight for every inch, every game we get,” Wade said. “Right now, we won Game 1. We’re supposed to. We’ll go back and focus on winning Game 2.”