CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Celtics Survive Poor 4th to Beat Heat 95-85

by FLCeltsFan 11:45 PM

The Celtics came out strong and over the first 3 quarters built an 83-61 lead over the first 3 quarters. The lead was as high as 28 points in the third. But in the fourth, their shots stopped falling and they let up on defense and the Heat got right back into the game, cutting the lead to 7 at one point. But the Celtics held on to win the game, in spite of being out scored 24-12 in the fourth quarter.

The officiating left a lot to be desired in this game. The worst call of the game was when the Heat had drawn to within 7 and Ray Allen had the ball and was literally tackled by Udonis Haslem and had another player hanging on his ankle. In spite of both players still hanging on Ray, they called a jump ball instead of a foul. The Celtics were lucky to escape this one with a win and it was a good thing they had built that big lead or they might not have won it.

Rondo did a good job of running the team but didn't shoot as well as he did in the last game. He finished with 3 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and an incredible 5 steals in 35 minutes. Eddie House played 17 minutes and finished with 9 points, 1 rebound and 2 steals.

Ray Allen once again played over 40 minutes and at the end you could tell his legs were tired as his shots were all falling short. He finished with 17 points on 3-17 shooting to go with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in 43 minutes. Paul Pierce finished with a game high 27 points along with 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 37 minutes.

Kevin Garnett finished with 23 points, 9 rebounds and 1 assist in 38 minutes. Once again in this game, they stopped going to KG on offense. It didn't make sense in that none of their jumpers were falling. Perk had another solid game with 7 points, 5 rebounds and some solid defense in 26 minutes.

James Posey had a great game against his former team, winning the Tommy Award, and finishing with 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 27 minutes. He had a big steal at the end of the game when he dove on the floor to break up the momentum of the Heat as they were making a run. With the lead at 7, Posey went for the steal and then hit 2 clutch free throws. Scot Pollard finished with 4 rebounds and 1 assist in 11 minutes. Scal played only 5 minutes and finished with 3 points and 1 rebound.

The Celtics out rebounded the Heat 40-39. They shot only 40% while allowing the Heat to shoot 46%. The Celtics had 15 steals in the game. They had 17 turnovers,which is too many, but forced the Heat into 24 turnovers. The passing wasn't there at the end of the game and the Celtics finished with 17 assists on 29 FG attempts. The Celtics are now 13-2 with the best record in the league. Who would have thunk it?

[Recap]
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