Heat-Celtics Preview

By TIM REYNOLDS
Posted Jan 26 2013 1:09PM

MIAMI (AP) Ray Allen has played in Boston as an opponent 15 times before. He knows what it's like to play under the fabled Celtics banners, knows exactly how the crowd treats visiting players.

His 16th appearance there as a visitor will be substantially different.

Not only will his trip there Sunday be his first as a former Celtic, but it will come with him donning the colors of perhaps the team's biggest rival these days, the reigning NBA champion Miami Heat, the club that has ousted Boston from the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.

And make no mistake, Allen has been getting ready for everything that will accompany this trip for quite a while.

"I've thought about it," Allen said. "I think more about who, family-wise, is going, who can go and sorting the whole protocol out. I don't know what to expect from their side. But it's an interesting concept because I've always gotten a warm welcome, even before I started playing there. I just want to win. Everything else will take care of itself."

When he played there as an opponent in the past, Allen typically got warm receptions. He starred at Connecticut and has deep roots in New England, and those two things go a long way in generating respect from the Boston fan base.

Then he joined the Celtics in the summer of 2007. A year later, he helped them win a championship. He bled green.

Now, not so much.

So on a Sunday afternoon before a national television audience, the big story won't be the return of the Heat to the site of their season-saving Game 6 win in the Eastern Conference finals last year, or the first trip back to Boston for LeBron James since his epic 45-point virtuoso performance in that game, or even the memory of how Celtics fans cheered wildly for the last few minutes of that blowout loss as a "thank you" to their team.

"It's going to be all about Ray," Heat forward Chris Bosh said. "Celtic fans, they're very fixated on the rivalry and `How could you do that?' They're very passionate."

Allen's relationship with the Celtics broke down in some respects last season, and when the Heat made him an offer last summer, he eventually accepted - knowing it would raise the ire of those back in Boston.

When the Celtics visited the Heat on opening night this season, the proof of the frosty relationships was there. Former teammates, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce especially, seemed to want nothing to do with Allen. As Allen checked into the game, his first official appearance as a Miami player, he approached Celtics coach Doc Rivers and got a warm embrace.

It's anyone's guess what the scene will be when he checks in Sunday.

"I'll savor it, going back and seeing the people you spent so much time with," Allen said. "But if you're going into a situation thinking about negative perceptions or behavior that's unbecoming of good sportsmanship, then you just want to get it over with, win the game and get out of there. I don't want it to distract these guys from everybody doing their job and being ready to play."

The bigger concern for both sides will likely be the way each club is playing of late.

Miami has won four straight games, hanging on to the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Boston has dropped six straight, and its hold on the No. 8 - and final - playoff spot in the East race is weakening.

Dwyane Wade doesn't think the teams' opposite trajectories will matter much. The way he sees it, when Boston plays Miami, everything gets amped up several notches.

"There's a lot of stories, but you can throw records out the window when we play Boston," Wade said. "It's significant because we have Ray Allen and it's his first time back, but we're going on the road and we want to play well and it's a tough place to play."

The Heat have been through these former-star-returns-to-old-home games before - most notably when James went back to Cleveland for the first time after he decided to sign with Miami.

After that scene, the Heat say they're prepared for anything Boston can offer.

"They're not going to cheer him, but it's not going to be like that," Wade said. "Not even close."

Celts top Heat 100-98 in 2 OT; Rondo out for year

By HOWARD ULMAN
Posted Jan 27 2013 8:46PM

BOSTON (AP) A double-overtime victory against LeBron James and the defending NBA champions was difficult to celebrate for Paul Pierce and the Celtics.

News of Rajon Rondo's season-ending knee injury spoiled the party.

"Everyone was really happy for the win," Pierce said after Boston beat the Miami Heat 100-98 Sunday. "It brought a dark cloud in this room when you heard the news."

When coach Doc Rivers told his players after the game, the joy of ending their six-game losing streak stopped, even if they had just outlasted the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference, which came in with a four-game winning streak.

Now the Celtics must try to keep winning without their leader, who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee late in Friday night's 123-112 loss, also in double overtime, in Atlanta.

They won Sunday after Pierce's 22-foot jumper with 31 seconds left gave them a 99-98 lead.

But making the playoffs got harder as the Celtics try to hang on to the eighth and final postseason spot in the conference with a 2 1-2-game lead over the Philadelphia 76ers.

"Obviously, the Rondo news is pretty tough. I knew it before the game," Rivers said. "I just didn't think it was any time to tell any of our guys."

This game was the first in Boston for Ray Allen since he left the Celtics after five seasons and signed as a free agent with Miami. He scored 21 points.

Kevin Garnett had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Pierce added 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the Celtics.

Rondo's injury "puts this team and the rest of the guys in a position to be ready to step up," Pierce said. Sunday's win "was a perfect example. We showed we are capable."

James had 34 points for the Heat, whose winning streak stopped at four.

"As much as I've been a rival with Boston over the years, I never want to see anyone go down," James said. "It's terrible, not only for their team but for the league."

After Pierce's basket, James had a chance to put the Heat ahead but missed a 12-foot jumper with 6.8 seconds to go from the left with defender Jeff Green jumping out at him. Pierce got the rebound and was fouled by Shane Battier.

He sank the first shot. Then, as a fan shouted "This one's for Rondo," he missed the second.

Miami had one last chance, but Battier missed a long jumper at the buzzer.

"They defended that very well," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "There are about three different options to it, four different options to it. They defended each one of them."

The Heat also could have won in the first overtime, but Dwyane Wade, who had 17 points, also missed a long jumper as the buzzer sounded. They had led 93-89 after consecutive baskets by James, but Garnett hit a layup with 1:45 remaining and a shot from the right baseline with 1:14 to go.

Boston could have avoided the first overtime when Pierce inbounded from behind his backboard with two seconds left to Jason Terry. But Terry's shot from the top of the key was short. The Heat had tied it on a 3-pointer by James with seven seconds remaining in regulation after Allen missed a 3-pointer from the left corner with 15 seconds to go.

Rivers did not mention Rondo's injury in his meeting with reporters about an hour before the game, but Courtney Lee started in his place. Doctors decided to keep Rondo out of the game after he went through his normal pregame routine but complained of pain that he thought was in his hamstring. An MRI was done and team physician Dr. Brian McKeon learned the results during the game.

Allen was part of the Big Three with Pierce and Garnett starting in 2007-08. In their first season together, Boston won its 17th NBA championship. He played against the Celtics once before this season, a 120-107 Heat win in Miami in the opener.

The crowd gave Allen a standing ovation when highlights of his career with the Celtics were shown on the video board above center court during a timeout with 5:33 left in the first quarter. At the Miami bench, he raised his left hand in recognition.

"When I saw it, just all those emotions came streaming back from all the great things we did here," Allen said. "I'll always be a Celtic in my mind."

Allen entered the game about a minute after the tribute and was booed when he touched the ball. The boos came down again when he took two free throws - missing the first, making the second - three minutes into the second quarter.

Allen went back into the game with 30 seconds left in the first half with the score tied at 43 and made a layup with 16 seconds to go. But Pierce sank a driving layup with 4.3 seconds remaining to tie it 45-45 at halftime.

"What happened to Ray is never good for this franchise," Pierce said, "but it wasn't about Ray. It was about us playing the defending champs."

It was Miami's first game in Boston since it won Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals behind James' 45 points.

Early in the second half, James hit a pair of 3-pointers from the same spot on the left, putting the Heat in front 51-48. The Celtics rallied and led 64-61 with 1:49 remaining in the third quarter. But the Heat scored the last seven points of the period on a jumper by Norris Cole, a free throw by Allen and two 15-footers by James and led 68-64 going into the fourth.

Notes: James and Chris Bosh each had 16 rebounds for the Heat. The last time the Celtics played consecutive double-overtime games was on March 11 and 13, 1951.

Notebook: Celtics 100, Heat 98 2OT

Brian Robb, For NBA.com
Posted Sun Jan 27, 2013 6:31 PM - Updated Sun Jan 27, 2013 6:31 PM

THE FACTS: Paul Pierce had a triple-double and hit the game-winning jumper with 30 seconds remaining, helping to snap Boston's six-game losing streak with a 100-98 victory over the Miami Heat in double overtime Sunday. The impressive victory and Ray Allen's return to the TD Garden was overshadowed by the news that the Celtics will be without Rajon Rondo, who tore his right ACL, for the remainder of the season. He suffered the injury Friday night in Atlanta. Pierce (17 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists) and Kevin Garnett (24 points, 11 rebounds) carried the shorthanded Celtics without their All-Star point guard. LeBron James had a game-high 34 points for the visitors, who had their four-game winning streak snapped.

QUOTABLE: "You can write the obituary. I'm not. You can go ahead, but I'm not. We won tonight, so, the way I look at is, we're going to stay in there."

-- Celtics coach Doc Rivers on the Celtics' chances this season without Rondo

THE STAT: The Celtics limited the Heat to just 25 percent shooting (5-for-20) during the game's two overtimes, willing their way to a win on the defensive end of the floor.

TURNING POINT: On the game's final possession, the Heat trailed by two but had a chance to tie the game after calling timeout with five seconds remaining. Rivers inserted Avery Bradley into the game to cover Dwayne Wade for the possession and the move worked as his suffocating defense forced Wade to pass the ball out to Shane Battier as the clock ran out. Battier missed a desperation 3-pointer, allowing the Celtics to escape with the win.

QUOTABLE II: "I think it's terrible. As much as a competitor and as much as I've been a rival with Boston over the years, I never want to see anyone go down. I think it's terrible, not only for their team, but the league."

-LeBron James on Rondo's injury

HOT: Chris Bosh -- Miami's big man had a strong game on both ends of the floor, hitting 7-for-12 shots to finish with 16 points, while grabbing 16 rebounds.

NOT: Wade -- The shooting guard's hot streak was derailed in the second half, as Wade shot just 25 percent (3-for-12) from the field after intermission, and scored just nine points in the second half and both overtimes combined.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Pierce -- It was the first triple-double of the season for the Celtic, who had a season-high 10 assists, while helping to fill in for Rondo at the point guard spot.

QUOTABLE III: "It was very weird. Going into the other locker room [was weird]. It's been a long time since I've been on that side of the hallway. It was an adjustment. The whole year's been an adjustment, being in Miami after being in Boston for so long. It was definitely a weird feeling for me."

-- Ray Allen on playing for the first time at the TD Garden as a member of the Miami Heat

ROOKIE WATCH: Jared Sullinger -- The 20-year-old was inserted back into the starting lineup in place of Brandon Bass at the power forward spot to help give the starters a spark. Sullinger scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in 22 minutes of action.

NOTABLE: There were 19 lead changes and 20 ties in the back and forth affair. ... The Heat took advantage of the Celtics on the offensive glass with 17 offensive rebounds, leading to 18 second chance points. ... It was the second straight double overtime game for Boston. ... James played a game-high 51 minutes. Allen scored 21 points in his return to the TD Garden. ... The crowd gave the former Celtic a standing ovation in the first quarter when a video tribute was shown on the Jumbotron at the TD Garden. ... Courtney Lee started in place of Rondo at guard. ... Rondo was taken to the hospital this morning and was tested by doctors there after reporting knee pain before the team's shootaround. An MRI confirmed the right ACL tear.

UP NEXT: For Miami, Wednesday @ Brooklyn, Friday @ Indiana, Sunday @ Toronto. For Boston, Wednesday vs. Sacramento, Friday vs. Charlotte, Sunday vs. LA Clippers.

• Heat: Pittman, Varnado
• Celtics: Melo

• Heat: Lewis
• Celtics: Sullinger

• Lead Changes: 19
• Times Tied: 20

• Arena: TD Garden, Boston, MA
• Officials: #43 Dan Crawford, #29 Mark Lindsay, #59 Gary Zielinski
• Attendance: 18624
• Duration: 3:02