{"id":416890,"date":"2011-05-04T03:20:29","date_gmt":"2011-05-04T03:20:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-05-04T03:20:29","modified_gmt":"2011-05-04T03:20:29","slug":"late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Late run gives Heat 2-0 lead on Celtics (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

MIAMI (AP)\u2014With the outcome decided in the final seconds, LeBron James<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> walked toward Mario Chalmers<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> to begin his version of a celebration.<\/p>\n

He playfully punched his teammate twice in the chest.<\/p>\n

Fitting, because James and the Miami Heat<\/a> have now landed two blows against the Boston Celtics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

James scored 24 of his 35 points in the second half, Dwyane Wade<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> added 28 and the Heat used a late 14-0 run to pull away and beat the aching Celtics 102-91 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cFeel good about it,\u201d James said. \u201cSeries is far\u2014far, far, far\u2014away from over. It\u2019s really just beginning for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

James shot 14 of 25 from the field, and logged 44 minutes with no turnovers. Chris Bosh<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds for Miami, which leads the best-of-seven 2-0.<\/p>\n

Game 3 in Boston isn\u2019t until Saturday night, and the Celtics may be particularly thankful for the break.<\/p>\n

Rajon Rondo<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> played through a balky back to score 20 points and add 12 assists for Boston, which got 16 points from Kevin Garnett<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and 13 from Paul Pierce<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span>\u2014who retreated to the locker room for treatment on his strained left Achilles\u2019 in the first half. Ray Allen<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> was held to seven points, and left with what he said was a bruised chest cavity courtesy of an elbow from James in the third quarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing down 2-0 doesn\u2019t scare any of us, doesn\u2019t make us nervous,\u201d Allen said. \u201cIt\u2019s just an opportunity to come out shining.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boston tied the game at 80 on a pair of free throws by Pierce with 7:10 left. The Celtics missed their next six shots and Miami pulled away, taking command of both the game and the series.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s our staple. We know the only way for us to win games, especially in the playoffs, is to play defense,\u201d James said. \u201cEveryone has each other\u2019s back. If one guy gets beat, another steps up. They made a run, a heck of a run \u2026 but we just kept grinding, kept playing our principles, and we finally wore them down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff Green<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> scored 11 and Delonte West<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> added 10 for the Celtics.<\/p>\n

Even for a franchise with such fabled history as the Celtics, an 0-2 deficit represents a colossal challenge.<\/p>\n

This is now the ninth time Boston has dropped the first two games in a best-of-seven series. In the previous eight, the Celtics prevailed only against the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> in the 1969 NBA finals.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s something this group of Celtics has never faced before, either.<\/p>\n

The last time Boston lost the first two games of a playoff matchup was in 2004, when it was swept by Indiana. The current core of Celtics had lost Game 1s four other times before this series, then bounced back to win Game 2 each time, against Chicago and Orlando in 2009, then Cleveland and the Lakers in 2010.<\/p>\n

Not this time.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing we can do about it,\u201d Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a third game and we\u2019ve got to take care of that. Whatever the past is, it is. They\u2019ve won two games at home. But we can\u2019t allow them to play like this, or it\u2019s going to be tough at our place.\u201d<\/p>\n

To win this series, Boston will need to prevail four times in a five-game span\u2014which it did in the first round against Miami last year, then again in the second round at the expense of James and the Cavaliers in the East semis. So it can be done, but neither James (7-0) nor Wade (5-0) has ever been part of a playoff series defeat after their clubs won the first two games.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a great team we are going against right now,\u201d James said. \u201cWe\u2019re just trying to give ourselves a good chance to win, just try to keep on attacking them, playing as hard as we can defensively, just trying to wear them down throughout the game, but it\u2019s a great team.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one of the titles the Heat are trying to claim, too.<\/p>\n

James won the MVP award in 2009 and 2010, his reign officially ending a couple hours before Tuesday\u2019s game when the NBA made the long-expected announcement that Chicago\u2019s Derrick Rose<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> was this season\u2019s top player.<\/p>\n

James\u2019 name did not appear on nine of the 121 ballots cast. Wade was entirely left off all but 10 of the ballots; voters were asked to rank the league\u2019s best five players.<\/p>\n

They noticed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, we don\u2019t really play this game for individual awards,\u201d Wade said. \u201cHe has two MVP trophies, which is awesome. I have a finals MVP trophy. Our body of work speaks for itself. What we\u2019ve done in this game speaks for itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Celtics had more than a chance to avoid the 0-2 hole.<\/p>\n

James scored 12 points in the third quarter, one more than he managed in the first half, to help Miami take a 72-67 cushion into the final 12 minutes. James then added the first basket of the fourth, but Boston answered with a 13-6 run over the next 4 minutes to knot the game at 80.<\/p>\n

The outcome was undecided\u2014momentarily.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Miami\u2019s big run began, including a three-point play where James dunked and got fouled after Joel Anthony<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> kept an offensive rebound alive. Chalmers started it all with a 3-pointer\u2014his only points of the night\u2014off a pass from Wade, and Miami was on its way.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat trust,\u201d Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.<\/p>\n

Jermaine O\u2019Neal<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> had a chance to end Boston\u2019s drought with 4:53 left, but his dunk was partially blocked by Anthony and bounced off the rim. James hit a long jumper from the left corner 17 seconds later, pushing the Heat lead to 92-80, their biggest to that point and the celebration was underway a few minutes later.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow the mental discipline begins,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cThis thing is just getting started.\u201d<\/p>\n

NOTES: All-Star guard Chris Paul<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> sat near the Heat bench, with longtime James confidant Maverick Carter. \u2026 Shaquille O\u2019Neal<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> (calf) was out again for Boston, while the Heat said Udonis Haslem<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> (foot) still \u201cisn\u2019t ready\u201d to return from November foot surgery. \u2026 Pierce played 33 minutes, giving him 4,259 in his Celtics playoff career, passing Dennis Johnson (4,258) for seventh in franchise history. \u2026 Heat guard Mike Bibby\u2019s<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> steal with 41 seconds left in the first quarter was his 100th in 87 playoff games.<\/p>\n

Tim Reynolds can be reached at http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/ByTimReynolds<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

Read the original:
\nLate run gives Heat 2-0 lead on Celtics (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MIAMI (AP)\u2014With the outcome decided in the final seconds, LeBron James (notes) walked toward Mario Chalmers (notes) to begin his version of a celebration. He playfully punched his teammate twice in the chest. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":416891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-416890","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-local-news"},"yoast_head":"\nLate run gives Heat 2-0 lead on Celtics (AP) - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Late run gives Heat 2-0 lead on Celtics (AP) - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"MIAMI (AP)\u2014With the outcome decided in the final seconds, LeBron James (notes) walked toward Mario Chalmers (notes) to begin his version of a celebration. He playfully punched his teammate twice in the chest.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Late run gives Heat 2-0 lead on Celtics (AP)\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-05-04T03:20:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/\"},\"wordCount\":1121,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"articleSection\":[\"Local News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/\",\"name\":\"Late run gives Heat 2-0 lead on Celtics (AP) - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-05-04T03:20:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Late run gives Heat 2-0 lead on Celtics (AP) - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Late run gives Heat 2-0 lead on Celtics (AP) - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"MIAMI (AP)\u2014With the outcome decided in the final seconds, LeBron James (notes) walked toward Mario Chalmers (notes) to begin his version of a celebration. He playfully punched his teammate twice in the chest.","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Late run gives Heat 2-0 lead on Celtics (AP)","datePublished":"2011-05-04T03:20:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/"},"wordCount":1121,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","articleSection":["Local News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/","name":"Late run gives Heat 2-0 lead on Celtics (AP) - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2011-05-04T03:20:29+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/04\/late-run-gives-heat-2-0-lead-on-celtics-ap\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}