Wade beats the Celtics as the Heat stave off elimination

I was a groomsman at a wedding on Saturday so understandably I've been on another planet for the last few days.

I did get to catch some of the Celtics-Heat Game 4 yesterday afternoon at AmericanAirlines Arena and boy was it high drama.

Dwyane Wade scored a career-high 46 points as the Heat won 101-92 to force Game 5 tomorrow night at the TD Garden.

It was a crazy game since the Celts came out extremely flat and were quickly down 18 points in the first half. However, they battled back and actually led by six points (77-71) going into the fourth quarter.

It wasn't all Wade for once as Quentin Richardson (20 points) and Michael Beasley (15 points) had their best games of the series.

Rajon Rondo paced Boston with 23 points and nine assists while Kevin Garnett added 18 points and 12 rebounds. Paul Pierce scored 16 and Ray Allen notched 15 points but they were silent down the stretch.

Even though Wade was red hot, including 13 points early in the fourth quarter, the Celts still had a chance late in the game but Ray Allen missed three of four free throws, Rondo missed a layup and Garnett missed two free throws. Game over.

Miami was up 31-18 after the first quarter and 49-43 at the half. Boston played great in the third quarter, outscoring 34-22 in the third quarter before the Heat doubled them up in the fourth quarter (30-15).

The C's had no business winning the Game 4 so there's no real reason to worry. Odds are Wade won't have another career game tomorrow night and/or Richardson and Beasley won't do nearly as well. It would have been nice to close it out and get some rest as soon as possible but what are you going to do?

The Celtics will not lose to a one-man team like the Heat

It was hard to believe but last night, the Miami Heat took a 14-point lead over the Boston Celtics early in the third quarter in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at the TD Garden.

For a team that had been on cruise control all season, the Celts looked like complete frauds as they couldn't do anything against a pretty average team. Thankfully, Boston woke up and held Miami to 10 points in the fourth quarter as they won 85-76.

The lasting image was a bizarre scrum in front of the Heat bench with 40 seconds left in the game. Paul Pierce was lying on the sideline with a hurt shoulder and Quentin Richardson came over and started talking trash (which is all he's good for according to Brandy). Kevin Garnett didn't enjoy that so he started pushing and shoving everybody and he accidentally caught Richardson with an elbow.

When it was all sorted out (after what seemed like two hours), Garnett was ejected and Glen Davis, Richardson and Udonis Haslem all received technical fouls. KG should not be suspended for Game 2 but I wouldn't put it past the NBA to overreact.

Dwyane Wade scored a game-high 26 points with eight rebounds, six assists and seven turnovers but Richardson (15 points) was the only other Heat player in double figures.

Pierce led Boston with 16 points, Garnett added 15 points and nine rebounds while Rajon Rondo notched 10 points and 10 assists. Without question, the player of the game for the C's was Tony Allen.

Ray Allen (2 for 9, 8 points) did one of his patented disappearing acts but Tony Allen was great off the bench, playing 29 minutes as he contained Wade and helped coverup for Ray's no-show.

Davis played well, scoring eight points and grabbing eight rebounds. Other than a Pierce 3-pointer (Boston's only one of the game) off a sick feed from Rondo, Davis had the play of the game as he made an And-1 while he fell down.

Kendrick Perkins also scored eight points. Jermaine O'Neal had eight points and nine rebounds.

It was great to see Boston play lockdown defense, holding Miami to 15 points in the second quarter and 10 in the fourth quarter. The Heat had just 32 points in the second half.

Miami shot 39.7% from the floor to Boston's 44.3%. The Celts made 12 more free throws (22-10) and had five less turnovers (19-14). It wasn't pretty but it was a promising start for a team that nobody believes in anymore.

Game 2 is back at the Garden on Tuesday night.

The Knicks' NBA Jam defense is not going to stop anybody

With 19 inches of snow accumulating over the past few days and a constant cycle of putting 10 layers on, shoveling and moving cars, we can be temporarily be forgiven by not really paying much attention to the Celtics.

That's not to say they don't deserve it, they certainly do but on a day when the Patriots had another vital late-season game and the Bruins also played at the exact same time as the C's, you can only flip the channel so much.

There is nothing left to say about the Celtics (26-2). They beat the Knicks (11-16), 124-105, last night at the Garden, winning their 18th game in a row. It matched the best streak in history (1981-1982; are you listening old-timers?) while also tying the NBA mark for best start through 28 games.

For the second time in six days, Rajon Rondo set a new career-high in points (26 points) with six rebounds, five assists and two steals. As the Comcast announcers say every game, Rondo truly improves each time out, it's incredible.

Boston's starting five (the best in the NBA) came to play as usual. Ray Allen scored 18 and Paul Pierce added 17 points. Kendrick Perkins had 12 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks while Kevin Garnett notched 12 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Tony Allen (11 points, 5 assists) and Leon Powe (10 points, 5 rebounds) led the bench. Glen Davis missed the game after getting into a car accident on the Mass Pike on the way to the game. He suffered whiplash and a concussion but he should be fine.

Quentin Richardson led New York with a game-high 29 points. Nate Robinson added 23 points (including a sick putback dunk) and Chris Duhon (when did he get good?) scored 20 points and had 10 assists.

David Lee put up 17 points and eight boards while Al Harrington scored 10.

Despite what the Celtics players and coaches said, this wasn't much of a game after the first quarter which the C's took 40-21. The Knicks outscored Boston, 37-26 in the second but the C's won the third (32-29) and fourth (26-18).

For the game, the Celts shot a season-high 65.8% which is nearly impossible. They actually missed ten free throws (14-24) but made up for it by getting more than double the amount of rebounds (47-23) for New York.

Those two records (franchise win streak and best 29-game start) can both be broken on Tuesday when the Sixers come to the Garden. With a win there, the Celts set up a monster game Christmas night in LA against the Lakers.

Celtics Visit the Circus and Come Home with a Win

As long as Isiah Thomas is still coaching up the Knicks and the team is filled with overpaid bums, they are a national joke. What negative thing hasn't happened to the Knicks in recent memory? Brawls, front office lawsuits, dogged play, coach-player disputes. In the 90's, they used to be one of the best teams in the NBA year in and year out.

The Celtics traveled to the Big Apple yesterday afternoon for an early game thanks to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Boston (33-6) came away with a 109-93 win in a game filled with trash-talking.

The offensive star for the C's, especially in the first half was Kendrick Perkins. He had 24 points (22 in the first half) which is a new career-high and eight rebounds. Kevin Garnett had 20 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists while Ray Allen (17 points, 8 boards) and Rajon Rondo (14 points, 4 steals) were some other notables.

Down 59-45 at the half, New York (13-28) resorted to some pretty bush league tactics in the second half to try and get under Boston's skin. Quentin Richardson (0 points) has had a long running feud with Paul Pierce (10 points, 7 assists) and things boiled over as they both got two technicals in the third quarter and were subsequently tossed. Pierce was having a great game distributing the ball, it was a shame to see him get caught up jawing with a scrub that had only one motive: get Pierce out.

The Knicks have some great numbers guys. Players that put up good statistics but never seem to be on good teams with any chemistry. Zach Randolph had a double-double with 24 points, 15 boards and four steals and Jamal Crawford had 22 points and five assists. Eddy Curry posted 19 points and six boards while Nate Robinson had 15 points off the bench.

Eddie House added nine points and Leon Powe built off his last game by scoring six and pulling down four rebounds.

Boston outshot New York, 54.7-43.2%. The Knicks made only 1 of their 15 3-point attempts and both teams were solid on the line (New York was 28 of 33, Boston was 23 of 29). Finally, the C's grabbed six more rebounds (42-26).

The Toronto Raptors come to the Garden tomorrow night in what should be a good contest. When healthy, the Raptors have a quality team. Chris Bosh has been lighting it up of late so no doubt, the Celts main priority will to be stop him.