Bosh-less Miami Heat Take 1-0 Lead Against Celtics

The Miami Heat manhandled the Boston Celtics on May 28, walking away with the 93-79 victory at the American Airlines Arena. With the win, the Heat take a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals, with Game 2 scheduled for May 30 in Miami.

The Celtics dominated the Heat during the 2011/12 regular season, but they had a hard time keeping up with the shorthanded Miami squad on Monday (Chris Bosh remained sidelined due to an abdominal injury).

The Heat came out firing on all cylinders, building up a 10 point lead by the end of the first quarter. The Celtics fought their way back in the second quarter, evening out things by the end of the half. The Heat weren't about to be denied on their home-court though, and they came out blazing in the third quarter, regaining control of the game and securing their first win in the series.

"Coming out of halftime and figuring it was a tie game - because Joel Anthony's shot didn't count, with a team like that; you don't want to spar with them too much," Dwyane Wade told reporters after the game.

"Especially with the point guard they have in [Rajon] Rondo. He's able to make so many things happen. For us to able to have a start on the defensive end, to have the run start all defensively, and rebound the ball, getting out in transition, making shots, making baskets, that's ideal for us. That's our perfect game."

LeBron James put up solid numbers in Game 1, walking away with 32 points and 13 rebounds. Wade also played well on Monday, putting up 22 points and 7 assists.

I wasn't particular impressed with Miami's role players, but they did get some help from Shane Battier, Mario Chalmers and Mike Miller, who finished the game with 10, 9, and 8 points respectively. Besides leading Miami's role players in scoring, Battier was also a force to be reckoned with on the boards, pulling down 10 rebounds.

Miami's defense was simply amazing in Game 1, and I don't see them having any problems against the Celtics if they keep it up. The Heat don't want to let their guard down though, since the Celtics aren't the type of team to go down without a fight.

David is a Miami Heat fan that has followed the team for 16 years. Follow him on twitter @davidkingwriter and check out his blog.
 
Sources:
Associated Press, "LeBron James-led Heat put away Celtics in Game 1"