Heat take 3-1 lead via OT win over Celtics

Too hot to handle.

The Miami Heat pulled away in the overtime period to take the 98-90 win over the home team Boston Celtics and bring a 3-1 lead as the series heads back to the South Beach in Miami Florida last night at Boston Massachusetts.

LeBron James led the way with 35 points and Dwayne Wade contributed 28 for the Heat as they push their arch rivals to the brink of elimination after trailing for the majority of this pivotal game.

Kevin Garnett's performance in this game is the exact opposite of his heroic 28 points and 18 rebounds in Game 3 as he missed nine of his ten shots and only accounted for an anemic 7 points.

Paul Pierce scored 27 points to spearhead the C's and Ray Allen added 17 points while the injured Rajon Rondo who played 39 minutes was limited to just 10 points and 5 assists.

The Celtics started out red hot as they hit 8 of their first 11 shots, ending the first quarter with an impressive 67% shooting to take a 31-28 lead. They went on to take a 53-50 halftime edge after Pierce and James had a shootout.

James and Pierce however, was both silenced in the third quarter both scoring only two points with the Celtics still holding the lead after 3 quarters 73-69.

Miami then clamped down on the Celtics in the 4th quarter only allowing them to hit 2 fieldgoals (5 points) in the first nine minutes of the quarter before a three pointer from Delonte West evened things out at 81 all.

Boston had the chance to win it during the regulation period but their play went nowhere and Paul Pierce was forced to put up a fall away jumper over James which missed thus sending the game into overtime where Miami scored the first six points and they cruised on to the victory.

Injured Rondo inspires Celtics to win Game 3

The Boston Celtics clinched their first win in the 2011 Eastern Conference Semifinals by beating the Miami Heat 97-81 and avoid falling to a 0-3 hole that no team in NBA history has ever overcome last night in their homecourt at "Bean Town"

Celtics' point guard Rajon Rondo dislocated his left elbow during a collision with Dwayne Wade late in the third quarter and had to be carried out of the court yet he came back to start the fourth quarter much to the applause of the Boston crowd.

Rondo contributed 6 points and 11 assists after playing the 4th quarter with literally one arm to compliment stellar performances from Kevin Garnett who scored 28 points with 18 rebounds and Paul Pierce added 27 for the defending East Champions.

Shaquille O' Neal saw action for the first time this series but he was a non factor scoring only two points and no rebounds in 8 minutes of play but his presence alone ignited hope in the heart of the team after losing the first 2 games in Miami.

Wade led the Heat with 23 points while LeBron James scored 15 points but they combined to hit just 14 out of 35 shots. James even missed three of four free throws in a span that the Celtics started to pull away.

Game 4 will be in Boston, Monday night where the C's will try to even out the series while Miami tries to get a commanding 3-1 lead before heading back to Miami.

Heat take Game 2 to gain 2-0 lead over Celtics

Miami only needs two more wins to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Behind a scorching performance by LeBron James who scored 24 of his 35 points in the second half, the Miami Heat pulled away with a late 14-0 run to secure Game 2 with a 102-91 victory over the Boston Celtics to gain a comfortable 2-0 series lead Tuesday in front of the fired up Miami fans in Florida.

James got very able help from Dwayne Wade who scored 28 points and Chris Bosh who tallied 17 points and 11 boards as they broke away from an 80-all deadlock with 7:10 left in the final quarter. Boston missed their next 6 attempts at the basket, allowing Miami to cruise along for the victory.

The embattled Celtics was led by Rajon Rondo with a double-double (20 points, 12 assists) while Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett added 13 and 16 points respectively. Ray Allen was a non-factor as he only accounted for an anemic 7 points on 2-7 shooting.

Game 3 will be on Saturday in Boston where the home team Celtics will try to avoid falling to a 3-0 deficit in which no team in NBA history have recovered from.