On Monday night the Celtics faced the hottest team in the NBA, the Miami Heat. The Heat came into Boston looking to extend their win streak to 23 games and acquire the title of second longest win streak in NBA history. The Celtics looked to extend a win streak of their own looking to win their 12th straight home game. This was a very tall task for the Celtics who would be without their centerpiece Kevin Garnett who sat out with strained adductor muscle.

With Garnett out of the line-up Doc Rivers elected to start Jeff Green for the third time this year. The team looked to get a major contribution from someone with KG out and got a huge performance from Jeff Green who set a career high with 43 points. Jeff was sensational tonight especially in the first half scoring 21 of his points in a 9 minute span. Unfortunately when Green was out, the offensive became stagnant allowing Miami to battle back and keep the game close. LeBron James was his usual self in full form leading the Heat in four major categories. In the end, despite Jeff Green's offensive explosion, LeBron and the Heat came away with the win 105-103 and extended their win streak to 23 games.

If this was a glimpse of the playoffs then sign me up. Coming into tonight everyone knew the game would have a playoff atmosphere but no one could have seen this coming. From start to finish the entire game was back and forth fueled with highlights and crazy momentum swings. It was only fitting that the two best players tonight would be matched up for the biggest shot of the game in the closing seconds. With the shot clock running down and only 12 seconds left in the game, LBJ rose up and hit a very tough contested shot over Green to put the Heat up 105-13 (See Image Below).

Jeff Green will get tremendous praise for his offensive outing but his stellar defense shouldn't be overlooked. He did a great job forcing James to shoot jumpers or force up tough shots at the rim time and time again. While LeBron was able to finish with a stat line of 37 points, 7 rebounds, and 12 assists it felt like he could of done much more damage had Green not battled hard in the trenches. Had a few loose balls gone off Miami instead of the Celtics the outcome could certainly have gone the other way.


Paul Pierce had a decent look at a three pointer in the final possession that just rimed out. He had a very solid overall performance good for 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. While Paul wasn't the focal point of the offensive he certainly quarterbacked the Celtics well getting his teammates involved and battling on the boards. The "Pitbulls" Bradley and Lee played great defense on Miami's guards, most notably on Dwayne Wade who finished with just 16 points. Of the two Avery struggled more on offense shooting just 3-11 for 7 points but scored one of Boston's biggest baskets with a corner three in the final minutes.

Because Green moved into the starting line-up the Celtics needed it's other bench players to step-up and provide some solid minutes. Doc went with a very limited line-up tonight going with just an 8 man rotation. In  24 minutes Jason Terry went 4-6 for 9 points and 4 assists all while chasing Ray Allen around and holding him 0-3 from behind the arc. Jordan Crawford also tallied 17 minutes good for 8 points but at times seemed to hurt the Celtics rhythm with his sporadic style.


The difference maker in the game can be seen in two specific stats, turnovers and points in the paint. The Celtics committed 21 turnovers that translated into 24 points for the Miami Heat. At one point the team led Miami by as many as 17 points but had some costly turnovers allowing them to get right back in striking distance. The other stat that really stuck out was the whopping 50 points allowed in the paint. With Kevin Garnett out of the line-up Miami seemed to have the advantage and really attacked the paint exploiting the Celtic's lack of size.

All and all this was a very solid game for the Celtics especially being without their veteran and leader KG. It'll be disappointing to swallow the loss simply because of Jeff Green's tremendous night but certainly marked another installment in a great rivalry. Hopefully this game will instill confidence in the team and show them they can certainly challenge the defending champs in a potential playoff series.

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