Led by LeBron James’ 32 points, the Miami Heat enjoyed a convincing 93-79 win over the Boston Celtics on Monday to grab a 1-0 lead in their Eastern Conference championship series.
Apart from a second quarter, where Boston came alive with 35 points and Miami lost their intensity, the Heat and James had too much for the 17-time NBA champions.
It says much about James’ current form that it did not feel like an outstanding display, yet he produced 32 points on 13-of-22 shooting from the field for his sixth 30-point game in this season’s playoffs.
Photo: Reuters
It was by no means a classic, with the game lacking the intensity of the conference semi-finals both teams had to battle through, but Miami will take confidence from winning by 14 points, while never really hitting their stride.
“We feel like we didn’t play our best basketball,” said James, who also ended the game with 13 rebounds. “We had some great looks offensively, but we had a lot of breakdowns defensively, so we didn’t play our best. It’s a good sign, a good thing for us, but we will prepare and we will be better on Wednesday.”
Boston, who did not secure their place in the conference finals until Saturday’s win over the Philadelphia 76ers, lacked sharpness on offense and struggled at times with Miami’s pace.
“They crushed us in the 50-50 game, anything loose or rolling, they got there,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “Offensively, we have to be more efficient. I didn’t think we did great defensively, but we still kept them to 93 points.”
Boston also picked up five technical fouls, including one for Rivers for disputing a call which he described as “the worst I’ve ever had.”
James outscored the Celtics by himself in the first quarter, making 13 points as Miami, seeking their second successive NBA finals appearance, established a 21-11 lead — the fewest points they had allowed in this season’s playoffs.
However, Boston dominated the second, drawing level by halftime helped by two three-pointers from Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo finally getting into the paint and Ray Allen doing a good job keeping Miami’s Dwyane Wade quiet.
Miami came out with determination after the break, though, outscoring Boston 26-15 in the third quarter, with James making 10 of those points to see the Heat to a 72-61 lead.
The Heat, solid in defense, were never in danger in the fourth quarter and were able to rest James and Wade (22 points) in the latter stages.
“At times it was a strange game, with some good runs from both teams,” Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We felt we could play better, I am sure they felt the same, but we found a way to grind it out, you have to against this team.”
Game 2 is in Miami today.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping