Heat 99, Celtics 90
Dwyane Wade scored 23 of his 38 points in the first half as the Miami Heat jumped out early and held off the visiting Boston Celtics en route to a 99-90 triumph in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
LeBron James added 22 points and James Jones went 5 of 7 from 3-point range and 10 of 10 from the free-throw line to grab 25 points off the bench for the Heat, who take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 2 is Tuesday night.
Wade, who shot under 30 percent and averaged 12.8 points against Boston in the regular season, shot 14 of 21 from the floor and added five assists and three steals.
Miami took control on the defensive end in the first half, holding the Celtics to 36 percent from the floor to grab a 51-36 lead at the break.
Ray Allen hit a pair of 3-pointers during an 8-0 run that pulled Boston to within 90-82 with 4:22 left. But the Heat called a timeout and regrouped, scoring the next six points to regain control.
Wade added to his highlights late, breaking away and hitting a layup after a perfect full-court pass from James and then diving three rows into the stands while going after an errant pass from Mario Chalmers.
Allen finished with 25 points and five 3-pointers to lead the Celtics while Paul Pierce was ejected after collecting his second technical foul following a hard screen on Wade with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter.