|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME FLOW
BOSTON (AP) -- The Boston Celtics stopped their losing streak,
and got interim coach Jim O'Brien his first NBA win in the process.
Paul Pierce scored 28 points as the Celtics snapped a six-game
losing skid with an 88-76 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday
night.
|  | | Celtics guard Kenny Anderson sprained his right ankle in the second quarter and did not return. |
Antoine Walker added 27 points for the Celtics, who lost to
Portland on Monday night in O'Brien's debut as Rick Pitino's
replacement. O'Brien, Pitino's longtime assistant, was appointed
interim coach Monday when Pitino resigned after 3½ years with
Boston.
"Obviously, I'm thrilled. I'm thrilled for the team and, quite
frankly, for me and the coaching staff," O'Brien said.
"They were primed and ripe to play a great game, and they
did," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "Everything they set up went in.
We just didn't have the disposition to play the Celtics tonight."
Eddie Jones scored 20 points for Miami, which had its three-game
winning streak stopped despite a furious fourth-quarter rally.
"They played well against Portland and we should have known
they would come at us," said Jones.
Miami, which trailed 55-36 in the third quarter, chipped away
and got to 74-71 with 5:10 left on a layup by Jones.
But the Celtics stopped the Heat's plans of winning their second
game against Boston in five days when Bryant Stith made a 3-pointer
from the left corner with 1:59 left for an 83-73 lead.
"I was able to come through when it mattered," Stith said.
"Any time you have a big win against a pretty good team, you want
to use it as a springboard."
The Celtics have won three of their last four against Miami at
home.
Brian Grant added 14 points, and Tim Hardaway 11 for Miami.
The Celtics capped a 5-0 run with a tip-in by Mark Blount with
10:04 left in the third to give them a 55-36 lead.
But Miami answered with a 9-2 run late in the third and closed
the margin to 59-53 on a 3-pointer by Hardaway with 4:23 left.
Walker's layup with 2:46 left in the quarter increased Boston's
lead to 66-53. The Celtics took a 70-58 lead into the fourth.
The Celtics went on a 10-0 run in the last 4:56 of the first
quarter to take a 27-12 lead. Miami shot only 4-for-16 from the
field in the opening quarter and turned the ball over six times.
"They aren't a bad team and they were going to win a game,"
Grant said. "They were a different team than we saw in Miami
intensity wise."
Dan Majerle's 3-pointer with 7:05 left in the second closed the
gap to 35-25. But the Celtics held Miami to four points in the
final 3:45 of the quarter and led 50-33 at halftime.
Game notes
Celtics guard Kenny Anderson sprained his right ankle with
2:15 left in the second after landing on Bruce Bowen's foot. ...
Boston signed guard Milt Palacio to a 10-day contract on Wednesday.
... Celtics rookie forward Jerome Moiso was activated from the
injured list, and the team placed Adrian Griffin on the list with
lower back pain. ... Of the Heat's 15 wins in their last 21 games,
only three have come against teams with winning records. ... In
their first 16 games Miami committed at least 19 turnovers four
times. Since then, they have done that only once.
|
|
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Miami Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 88
Miami 76
Seattle 104
Washington 101
Toronto 110
Detroit 85
Dallas 106
Minnesota 86
Portland 93
Philadelphia 75
LA Clippers 92
Denver 86
Sacramento 108
Cleveland 103
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Antoine Walker Official Site
|
