Heat advance to East Finals by eliminating Celtics

Finally over the Boston spell.

The Miami Heat ended the game on a scorching 16-0 blast to oust the Celtics out of the playoffs and qualify for the Eastern Conference Semifinals as they await for the winner of the Chicago-Atlanta series to determine who will they be battling for the East Championship.

Dwayne Wade and LeBron James combined for a total of 67 points including game sealing shots from LeBron down the stretch to finally propel the Heat over their arch rivals Celtics who spelled them much trouble this season.

James hit a three with 2:10 remaining and another with 40 seconds left to ice the gamefor a total of 33 points and wrap the series up before the shocked Boston team knew what hit them.

The aging Celtics was clearly outperformed by the much younger,explosive and athletic Miami Heat team especially at home stretch when it mattered the most just like what happened to the overtime period of Game 4 where the Celtics clearly fell apart.

Miami is in search of it's first championship since 2006 or the "Wade-Shaq" era and their superstar LeBron James is in quest of getting his first championship ring since joining the league in 2003.

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.

Celtics sweep Knicks to advance to the next round

Celtics earn a short break before battling in the East Semis.

The Boston Celtics completed their dominance of the New York Knicks by wrapping the series with a 4-0 sweep after their 101-89 win in the Madison Square Garden on Sunday to advance in the 2011 East Semifinals.

Spearheaded by their veteran forward Kevin Garnett who tallied 26 points and 10 rebounds complimented by another great performance by Rajon Rondo who had 21 points and 12 assists, the Boston Celtics give themselves time to rest themselves before their anticipated showdown with the Miami Heat who failed to complete a sweep as the 76ers forced Game 5 with a late rally in Game 4.

Leading by as much as 23 points, the Celtics had to withstand a furious rally by the Knicks as the home team cut it to as close as 4 points in the 7 minute mark of the final quarter feeding off the support of the fans.

This loss ended the Knicks most successful season in the last decade and it renewed bad memories of the last time they qualified for the playoffs which was in 2004 where the team was also sent home by a sweep.

Carmelo Anthony led his team with 32 points and Amare Stoudemire added 19 markers and 12 boards but shot an anemic 5-20 clip evident of his struggles brought upon by back spasms he suffered in Game 2 which came after a magnificent opening game performance.

Knick’s star point guard Chauncey Billups wasn’t able to play for the rest of the series after straining his left knee at the final minute of Game 1.