The Celtics overcame a fourth-quarter scare from the pesky Heat to earn a 92-85 win against their Eastern Conference foe.
Celtics 92, Heat 85
American Airlines Arena, Miami, Fla.
Nov. 29, 2009
Headliner: Kevin Garnett, the Big Ticket, came up with a big performance in South Beach on Sunday night, leading the Celtics with 24 points. It was just the second time this season Garnett has scored 20-plus points in game, and the first time since Nov. 6 against Phoenix. He was 11-for-12 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line in 35 minutes of action. KG also picked up eight rebounds and finished with a plus-10 rating for the game.
Unsung hero: Dwyane Wade came up on the losing end of Sunday's game, but the Heat's superstar shooting guard led all players with 27 points. Wade was 11-for-23 from the field and 5-for-8 from the line, but missed on all three 3-point attempts even though he made up 32 percent of the Heat's offense. Wade finished with a minus-14 rating, but did dish out six assists and pick up five boards.
Scrub: Miami's James Jones tried his luck from all over the floor, but couldn't find the net except from the line. Jones missed every single shot he took from the floor, picking up all four of his points from the free-throw line where he was perfect 4-for-4. In 33 minutes, Jones didn't come away with a single basket, including an 0-for-4 rate from behind the arc.
Turning point: With just over eight minutes to play, the Celtics trailed 74-69 after the Heat opened the fourth quarter on a 9-4 run. But up five points, the Heat began to take ill-advised jump shots from all over the floor, and their constant misses led to a quick turnaround on the scoreboard. Brian Scalabrine drained a big 3-pointer, and Rajon Rondo made two impressive driving layups to tie the score. Once the game was knotted at 76-76, the Celtics pulled away with a 16-9 run to finish out the final six minutes of play.
Up Next: The Celtics have Monday off before playing the Bobcats on Tuesday, the Spurs on Thursday and the Thunder on Friday. Sunday night's win gives the Celtics a nice start to their four-game road trip, a much-needed win with six of their next seven games coming away from the Garden. The rest of the week should be a good test for the Celtics as they will get a mix of both good and bad, giving them a chance to see if they can play their own game — and not down or up to their opponent's level.
