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David Banks
Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics
The home teams are undefeated though the first three games of each NBA
Conference Final, as the Boston Celtics (48-34, 42-38-2 ATS) got back into their
series with the Miami Heat (56-24, 41-39 ATS) for now with a 101-91 win
Friday. Thus the Celtics now trail the series 2-1 and they are probably still
lamenting losing the back-and-forth Game 2 in Miami in overtime. Boston now
gets a chance to even things up at home at TD Garden in Boston, MA on Sunday
night at 8:30 ET on ESPN.
Game 3 of this series had much the same feeling as Game 3 of the Western
Conference Final between the Spurs and Thunder, with the home team (in this
case the Celtics) playing with a sense of desperation and the team up 2-0
(Heat) playing with a noticeable lack of energy. The fact that the Celtics only
won by 10 points as opposed to Oklahoma City's blowout might be seen as a
negative sign for Boston's chances in this series though. Rajon Rondo followed
up his historic 44-point, 10-assist performance in Game 2 with another fine
showing, scoring 21 points and adding 10 assists and six rebounds, and each
member of Boston's Big Three (Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen) scored
in double digits also. Unfortunately that accounted for over 80 percent of
the scoring as Brandon Bass scored just four points while in constant foul
trouble and the bench added a total of 19 points. Boston did shoot an even
50.0 percent from the field (38-for-76) and it out-rebounded Miami 44-32, as
couple of examples of the Heat not bringing their usual intensity with a 2-0
series lead. Even with all that, Miami still would have been right there at
the finish if it didn't shoot a dismal 10-of-20 from the foul line compared
to the Celtics' 20-of-26.
Therefore, the Heat may have come away feeling good about themselves
despite the loss, especially since they shot 49.4 percent from the floor
themselves (38-for-77) with many of those being easy drives to the basket while
pushing the ball up the floor following made Boston baskets while taking
advantage of the Celtics' slow transition defense. LeBron James led both teams with
34 points on 16-of-26 shooting, but he carried the load mainly by himself as
Dwayne Wade had a rather quiet 18 points and Mario Chalmers added 14. It
seemed that the Miami offense played in spurts as the Heat scored exactly 28
points each in the first and fourth quarters but a grand total of just 35
points in the middle two stanzas. In fact Miami went over nine minutes without
a field goal from late in the first quarter to the middle of the second
quarter, which was when the Celtics built a double-digit lead and they were
never headed the rest of the way.
Believe it or not, the Celtics are now 6-1 against the spread in all the
head-to-head meetings between these clubs this year combining the regular
season and playoffs, with the only cover by the Heat coming in Game 1 of this
series when Miami was fresh and Boston was playing just with just one day off
following a seven-game series vs. Philadelphia. Even more incredibly, Boston
is now 9-1 ATS in the last 10 head-to-head meetings here in Boston,
although the lone Miami cover was a huge one as it came while winning Game 4 of the
Eastern semifinals in overtime last season with these teams in the exact
situation they are in now, with the Heat leading 2-1.
Pick: Miami Heat-1
Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics
The home teams are undefeated though the first three games of each NBA
Conference Final, as the Boston Celtics (48-34, 42-38-2 ATS) got back into their
series with the Miami Heat (56-24, 41-39 ATS) for now with a 101-91 win
Friday. Thus the Celtics now trail the series 2-1 and they are probably still
lamenting losing the back-and-forth Game 2 in Miami in overtime. Boston now
gets a chance to even things up at home at TD Garden in Boston, MA on Sunday
night at 8:30 ET on ESPN.
Game 3 of this series had much the same feeling as Game 3 of the Western
Conference Final between the Spurs and Thunder, with the home team (in this
case the Celtics) playing with a sense of desperation and the team up 2-0
(Heat) playing with a noticeable lack of energy. The fact that the Celtics only
won by 10 points as opposed to Oklahoma City's blowout might be seen as a
negative sign for Boston's chances in this series though. Rajon Rondo followed
up his historic 44-point, 10-assist performance in Game 2 with another fine
showing, scoring 21 points and adding 10 assists and six rebounds, and each
member of Boston's Big Three (Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen) scored
in double digits also. Unfortunately that accounted for over 80 percent of
the scoring as Brandon Bass scored just four points while in constant foul
trouble and the bench added a total of 19 points. Boston did shoot an even
50.0 percent from the field (38-for-76) and it out-rebounded Miami 44-32, as
couple of examples of the Heat not bringing their usual intensity with a 2-0
series lead. Even with all that, Miami still would have been right there at
the finish if it didn't shoot a dismal 10-of-20 from the foul line compared
to the Celtics' 20-of-26.
Therefore, the Heat may have come away feeling good about themselves
despite the loss, especially since they shot 49.4 percent from the floor
themselves (38-for-77) with many of those being easy drives to the basket while
pushing the ball up the floor following made Boston baskets while taking
advantage of the Celtics' slow transition defense. LeBron James led both teams with
34 points on 16-of-26 shooting, but he carried the load mainly by himself as
Dwayne Wade had a rather quiet 18 points and Mario Chalmers added 14. It
seemed that the Miami offense played in spurts as the Heat scored exactly 28
points each in the first and fourth quarters but a grand total of just 35
points in the middle two stanzas. In fact Miami went over nine minutes without
a field goal from late in the first quarter to the middle of the second
quarter, which was when the Celtics built a double-digit lead and they were
never headed the rest of the way.
Believe it or not, the Celtics are now 6-1 against the spread in all the
head-to-head meetings between these clubs this year combining the regular
season and playoffs, with the only cover by the Heat coming in Game 1 of this
series when Miami was fresh and Boston was playing just with just one day off
following a seven-game series vs. Philadelphia. Even more incredibly, Boston
is now 9-1 ATS in the last 10 head-to-head meetings here in Boston,
although the lone Miami cover was a huge one as it came while winning Game 4 of the
Eastern semifinals in overtime last season with these teams in the exact
situation they are in now, with the Heat leading 2-1.
Pick: Miami Heat-1
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