Too Much Wade from Dade: Celtics 92, Heat 101

Posted by Brendan Jackson on Apr 25, 2010 771819 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2010%2F04%2F25%2Ftoo-much-wade-from-dade-celtics-92-heat-101%2FToo+Much+Wade+from+Dade%3A+Celtics+92%2C+Heat+1012010-04-25+20%3A01%3A53Brendan+Jacksonhttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D7718

ESPN • Hot Hot Hoops • Peninsula is Mightier

After stepping up in the waning seconds of Game Three to put the Heat away, the Celtics were nowhere to be found when crunch time in Game Four rolled around.  The Celtics were so cold from the field in the fourth quarter, they did not score a single point in the last 2:35 of the game.  Every must-have basket the Celtics attempted could not find the bottom of the net including a wide-open layup by Rondo, a wide-open three by Paul Pierce, and three free throws by Ray Allen.

Despite playing extremely poorly on the offensive end, the Celtics still had enough fire power to overcome a plethora of early turnovers to make this game competitive.  The Heat were able to ride some hot shooting from Quentin Richardson early on en route to a 13 point lead by the end of the first quarter.  The Celtics countered in the second by running their offense to a T and locking down their defense en route to cutting the deficit to 6 at half time.

By the time the Third Quarter rolled around, the Heat had given up a commanding lead and started feeling a sense of urgency that accompanies a team on the edge of an unwanted offseason.  Wade locked in and started reeling off a barrage of three pointers that neither Allen could do much about.

Wade’s spectacular play and some timely hot shooting from his supporting cast were just enough to put the Celtics away in the fourth.  The Heat will have to try to come back from a 3-0 series deficit if they want to advance to the second round, but something tells me Boston will not allow that to happen- especially on their home floor.

Just a few bullets to finish us off:

• Other than Wade’s stat line, the Miami box score is a bit unspectacular.  Richardson has been inconsistent all season and Miami continues to have trouble finding contributors in the post season.  All signs still point to an early exit for the Heat.
• Kevin Garnett had an Allstar power forward game, scoring 18 points and pulling down 12 boards.  KG also had his outside shot going which bodes well for the rest of this series and beyond.
• Nate Robinson made his first appearance in the post season and got a rebound. Good for him, bad for the C’s.
• This game was sloppy over all by both teams combining to commit 30 turnovers.  When any team commits that many turnovers, it only looks like no one wants to win- which is extremely frustrating to watch.
• The Celtics did a great job of keeping Dwyane Wade from getting to the basket, which is weird to say about a guy who put up 46 points.  He just decided to get insanely hot from the outside, going 5-7 from distance.