You're hot then you're cold, you're yes then you're no, you're in then you're out, you're up then you're down. Unbeknownst to Katy Perry, she succinctly summed up the Boston Celtics' night in the opening game of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday evening.
Boston was all over the map in Game 1 against the Miami Heat, and the end result was a 93-79 win for the residents of South Beach, sending Miami one step closer to the Finals.
"I thought they were ready to play," Celtics coach Doc Rivers told reporters after the game.
LeBron James scored 32 points to lead all scorers and Dwyane Wade had 22 points. Shane Battier was the only other Heat player to score in double digits, dropping 10 points while scooping up eight rebounds. Mario Chalmers scored nine points and Mike Miller had eight points on 2-of-2 shooting from three-point range off the bench for the red-hot Heat.
Kevin Garnett powered the Celtics offensive attack, as expected, pouring in 23 points in 31 minutes while grabbing 10 boards. Paul Pierce shot 5-of-18 from the floor and finished with 12 points while Rajon Rondo had 16 points on 8-of-20 shooting, seven assists and four turnovers. Boston shot 37.5 percent (24-for-64) and was 11-for-21 from the free-throw line.
After the Celtics put up their worst offensive quarter of the postseason in the first period, in which they scored 11 points while giving up 21, the Celts notched their best, outscoring the Heat 35-25 in the second to miraculously tie the game at 46 heading into halftime. James had 13 points alone in the first quarter, outscoring the entire Celtics team, and finished the half with 17. Garnett, meanwhile, scored 13 on 6-of-8 shooting in the opening 24 minutes.
"I thought we kind of joined the game," Rivers said. "First quarter, we gave them a cushion, gave them a lot of confidence. I thought in the second quarter we executed our stuff offensively. The ball started moving, I thought we started competing."
Miami answered with its strongest quarter in the third, outscoring Boston 26-15. James scored 10 on 4-of-7 shooting in the frame and Wade scored six to lead the Heat to a simmering 55.6 shooting percentage in the quarter. Boston got seven points from Garnett in the third, but overall shot 27.3 percent in the third, missing 16 shots. Wade added 10 in the fourth and Miami outpaced Boston with a 21-18 quarter to grab the series-opening win.
"In the third quarter, the game just got away from us," said Rivers. "I thought we rushed. I thought our offense was rushed. I never thought we ever got into our rhythm as far as getting from one side of the floor to the other, and they made some shots."
Game 2 tips off at 8:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday evening at AmericanAirlines Arena, and Boston will try to avoid an 0-2 hole before the series shifts to Boston for Games 3 and 4.
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