Pity poor Dwyane Wade. Sure he won a championship with the Miami Heat in 2006, makes more money than I can even imagine and he lives in Miami which last I heard was a decent place to live. He is one of the superstars that will be a free agent this summer, meaning that D-Wade could be out of South Beach and frankly, I don't blame him.
Nobody in the NBA carries his team like Wade. He had a game-high 30 points and season-high 13 assists last night but the Heat (24-25) still lost to the Celtics (31-16), 107-102 at the TD Garden.
Boston was playing without Paul Pierce-it's most dependable, consistent player-and it's been helter skelter this season plus they came in 7-11 since Christmas.
My best friend Joe and I were in the building and we witnessed Rajon Rondo continue his rapid acension to superstar status as he had 22 points, 14 assists, six rebounds and three steals. In his fourth year, Rondo's game has grown by leaps and bounds.
He hit two 3-pointers last night and looked much more confident at the free throw line (8-of-14) even though the final numbers were still weak. It's easy to see that he is the franchise now and when the Big 3 are all gone in a few seasons, everything will be about Rondo.
Ray Allen broke out of his slump with a team-high 23 points, seven rebounds, three steals and three assists. Kevin Garnett added 14 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Kendrick Perkins had 13 points and Eddie House notched his finest performance of the season with 16 points off the bench.
Besides Wade, the Heat have no second option. Rafer Alston and Udonis Haslem both scored 15, Michael Beasley (who should be better with his wide range of skills) had 13 points and the washed up duo of Quentin Richardson (12 points) and Jermaine O'Neal (10 points) mostly took up space.
It was tight throughout the contest as Boston led 27-26 after one quarter and 53-51 at the half. Rondo was fouled at the halftime buzzer taking a halfcourt shot by Daequan Cook (Thad Matta is rolling over in his grave). Rondo made two of three for the two-point Celtics lead.
Miami tied it at 74 going into the fourth and the C's pushed it to a 10-point advantage in the fourth before holding on for once and making their free throws down the stretch.
Boston came into the game as the second-worst rebounding team in the league (don't ask me how) but they outrebounded the Heat 41-31, including 15 offensive rebounds. The ball movement for the C's was also top-notch as they recorded 29 assists on 37 baskets.
The dredge of the NBA, the 4-44 New Jersey Nets come to the Garden tomorrow night. Hopefully Boston can take care of them quickly and give the starters some much needed rest.
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