The Celtics defeated the Heat, 101-96 at home Wednesday night and with the win they won the season series against the defending NBA Champions. LeBron James did not play for the Heat with back spasms.
The C's trailed 34-22 after the opening quarter, but a strong second quarter cut the deficit to six at the half. The home team controlled play for the majority of the second half to come away with the win. Rajon Rondo had a terrific game finishing a point shy of a triple-double as the point guard had nine points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds. Avery Bradley finished with a team-high 23 points in the win, while Brandon Bass had a strong game as well finishing with 18 points and Jeff Green added 13.
Miami was led by Dwayne Wade who had 17 points in the loss, while Ray Allen had 14 points off the bench.
The Celtics will return to the court Friday night (7:30, CSNNE) against the Nets in Brooklyn.
What they'll be saying: Coming off two tough losses it was a good win for the Celtics, even with the Heat being without James. As a team the Celtics shot 50 percent from the field and finally got Rondo and Bradley in the back court together as the two showed what they can do when being paired together. The C's were able to come out with the win despite being beaten badly in the paint as the Heat scored 50 points to the Celtics' 20.
