The Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics are tied, 46-46, at halftime of Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics were outscored 21-11 in an ugly first quarter before finding some offense in the second. They used an 8-0 run to tie the game going into the locker room.
Kevin Garnett kept Boston in the game while his teammates struggled early. He has 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting. The rest of the starting five went a combined 1-for-15 from the floor in the first quarter. Rajon Rondo scored eight points, all in the second quarter, on 4-for-10 shooting. He has four turnovers to five assists. Paul Pierce scored six points in the final five minutes to finish with 10 for the half. Ray Allen has been an afterthought for the Heat's defense, as Mike Prada points out. The sharpshooter went just 3-for-7 from the free throw line.
LeBron James scored 13 points in a dominant first quarter, but had just four in the second. Dwyane Wade has six points off 2-for-5 shooting. Miami is shooting 50 percent from the floor as a team compared to 42.9 percent for the Celtics.
The Heat have benefited from some questionable officiating. Doc Rivers was given a technical foul for apparently saying "come one Eddie" to referee Ed Malloy from the sideline. Garnett and Allen were T'd up on similarly debatable incidents earlier in the game.
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