[Miami, FL] In the season series between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, the green and whites were 3-1. This had people speculating how if the Heat could actually win this series without Chris Bosh.

On Sunday, Bosh participated in light workouts in practice, but the Heat still have him listed as being out “indefinitely.”

The consensus was that without Bosh, the Heat would struggle mightily in the paint against Boston’s Kevin Garnett. However, on Monday night, that consensus learned that you should never underestimate the Heat’s dynamic duo of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James.

The Heat flexed their muscles early in Game 1, starting off on a 17-9 run to put Boston back on their heels and gasping for air. James was on a mission, scoring 13 points (more than the entire Celtics team combined). At the end of one, the Heat were up 21-11.

But Garnett and the Celtics fought back in the second, with Paul Pierce netting 8 points and Garnett sinking 7. Miami’s Mike Miller sunk two 3-pointers to keep the Heat up by double-figures in the early stages of the second, but by the end of the quarter, the Celtics went on a 15-9 run to tie the game.

At halftime, the score was 46-46.

The Heat came out of the locker room on fire. It has been a trend among many teams in the playoffs that the third quarter is one of the most critical quarters to have momentum. And on Monday night, the Heat followed that trend.

Copyright 2012 NBAE (Photo: Mike Ehrmann/NBAE/Getty Images)

Miami Heat emerge triumphant in Game 1 against the Boston Celtics

LeBron scored 10 points and D-Wade scored 6 points as the Miami Heat ended the third quarter on a 13-7 run to take an 11 point lead into the fourth. At the buzzer, the Heat were up 72-61.

Wade was just too much for the Celtics to handle in the fourth, scoring 10 points and playing out-of-his-mind defense. In fact, the whole Heat team shut down the Celtics offense, keeping them from mounting a comeback. The final score was Heat 93, Celtics 79.

LeBron James finished with 32 points and 13 rebounds while Dwyane Wade managed 22 points and 7 assists.

“We try to feed off each others’ energy,” James said of Wade.

The role players like Shane Battier, Mario Chalmers and Mike Miller really helped the Heat this time out by combining to score 27 points.

Kevin Garnett of the Celtics is known for trash talking players on the floor. On Monday night, Garnett was trash-talking to both Wade and James. But, in the Indiana series, Danny Granger was talking trash to Wade and James, which only motivated them more.

That may have been the case in Game 1 against Boston.

“We let Wade, we let LeBron play in extreme comfort,” Boston Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers said. “We gave the other guys everything they wanted, as well. I look at them as a top opponent, a top contender, and a competitive group.”

Game 2 is on Wednesday, in Miami. If the Miami Heat learned anything in the series with the Pacers is that they need to focus and not let Boston steal game 2 so that they can take a 2-0 lead and have a bit of a cushion going into Boston for Game 3.

By: Michael Tristani II/Sunshine Slate

Lead image: Copyright 2012 NBAE (Photo: J. Meric/NBAE/Getty)

Miami Heat

[Miami, FL] On Saturday, Miami Heat superstar LeBron James was awarded with the NBA MVP award, the 3^rd MVP award of his career and the first MVP won by a Heat player. Although he was proud of the individual achievement, he said he wants the big prize, an NBA championship.

After beating the New York Knicks in five games in the 1^st round, the Heat were ready to start the semifinals at home against the Indiana Pacers. In the regular season, the Heat won 3 out of 4 times against the Pacers.

But in all 4 of those games, the Pacers did play great defense and gave the Heat a great challenge. Most people think this series might only go only 4 or 5 games, but after Game 1, most people might change their mind.

The Pacers proved that they came to play in the first quarter by starting the game off on a 13-4 run. But, the hometown Heat rebounded by going on a 16-6 run of their own to re-take the lead. But it didn’t last.

George Hill scored 7 points for Indiana while Chris Bosh and LeBron both scored 6 points each for Miami. At the end of one, the Pacers were up 23-20.

Indiana kept going at the Miami defense in the second quarter. David West scored 8 points and Darren Collison scored 5 points for the Pacers. Although the Pacers outscored the Heat the teams basically played to a draw. Dwyane Wade scored 11 points and Bosh scored 7 points.

A potentially bad moment came for Miami in the final minutes of the quarter. Bosh drove in the lane, dunked, and was fouled. Unfortunately, he landed very awkwardly and was later found with an abdominal strain and did not return for the rest of the game.

Photo: Miami Heat

Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh suffered and injury in Game 1 and is out indefinitely

At halftime, the Pacers – who again outscored the Heat (25-22) – were up 48-42.

Miami’s dynamic duo came alive in the second half. Wade scored 10 points and James scored 8 points and had 3 assists. Ronny Turiaf also pitched in, scoring 4 points and playing good defense in the paint.

Although Miami had a lot of momentum, the Pacers still stayed in the game though, with Danny Granger scoring 7 points. At the end of the 3^rd quarter, the game was tied at 70.

The newly crowned MVP torched the Pacers’ defense in the fourth quarter. LeBron scored 16 points and really found a rhythm with his mid-range jump-shot. Consequently, the Heat outscored the Pacers 25-19 in the 4Q. The Heat ended the game on a 10-4 run to take the lead and win the game.

The final score was Heat 95, Pacers 86.

LeBron James played like an MVP, scoring 32 points and reeling in 15 rebounds. Dwyane Wade also dominated, scoring 29 points and 4 assists.

Also worth noting: James played the whole entire second half without a rest.

“I thought about taking him out for a minute,” Miami Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra mused. “I just said, ‘No, we’ll figure it out.’ I just looked him straight in the eye and told him, ‘You flat out cannot get tired. Period.”

Many Heat fans are worried and are wondering just how long Chris Bosh will be out. However, Spoelstra didn’t sound like Chris Bosh was going to come back any time soon.

“We have some time now. We don’t know what Chris’ status is,” Spoelstra said. “We won’t know until we get an MRI, move on from there.”

Game 2 is Tuesday in Miami (7 p.m.). Most signs point to Bosh being out for that one.

By: Michael Tristani II/Sunshine Slate

Lead image: Copyright 2012 NBAE (Marc Serota/NBAE/Getty Images)

Miami Heat

[Indianapolis, IN] Coming into Game 1, the Orlando Magic were the underdogs against the late-season charging Indiana Pacers.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this, but with Orlando’s superstar center Dwight Howard out for the season with a back injury (he just had surgery), the tables have turned the possible contenders into also-rans. It would be up to Glen “Big Baby” Davis to fill Howard’s massive shoes in the middle.

In reality, it was Orlando’s scrappy, never-say-die attitude and aggressive three-point shooting (9-of-24) that proved to be the difference. That and the fact that Indiana couldn’t make their free throws (they shot under 60%, pathetic by pro standards).

Still, the Pacers had a chance to win this one. With the scoreboard reading 80-77 and with 10.3 seconds left on the clock, they called for a timeout. On the inbound play, go-to scorer Danny Granger got the ball and prepared to launch a three. But he was called for traveling.

Traveling? Missing free throws? Pacers legend Larry Bird must be turning over in his grave. Wait. What? He’s still alive?

The good guys ended up winning 81-77.

Possibly the most improbable thing about the victory is that the Orlando Magic’s ace sharpshooter Ryan Anderson only managed four points. If Anderson can break free and get hot in this series, the Magic may actually have a chance in pulling off the upset.

Photo: Orlando Magic

“Even in games we haven’t played well, I think our guys never quit fighting. Our goal is to hang in there,” said Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy after the game.

Hanging in there, indeed.

Though he was outsized by Indiana center Roy Hibbert by 5 inches, Davis played a great game, managing 16 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks in 40 minutes of play. And all of that on a sore ankle!

“We’re not trying to impress the doubters or make them believe in us. We believe in ourselves. We’ve been through a lot this year, both mentally and physically. And we have been able to overcome it. This is huge to get Game 1 at their place,” said Davis after the game.

Other Magicians stepped up in this game as well, including dribbling puppy dog Earl Clark who battled Indiana’s big men for 19.5 minutes. Clark did well, scoring 6 points, pulling down 9 rebounds and swatting away four shots. Puppy power!

The Orlando Magic lead the first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers 1-0. Game 2 is Monday night.

By: Mark Christopher/Sunshine Slate

Images: Orlando Magic

Orlando Magic

Sure, it was back-and-forth for a while, but in the end, the Miami Heat’s Big Three proved way to strong for Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals Tuesday at American Airlines Arena. The home-court victory gives the Heat a 1-0 lead in the series.

LeBron James finished with 24 points. Dwyane Wade had 22. They had 19 rebounds between the two of them.
It wasn’t looking good in the third quarter as the Mavs piled it on to take an eight-point lead. But before the quarter was over it was the Heat who were up by four after a James three-pointer.

Defense was again the story for the Heat, who held Dallas to an anemic 37% shooting from the field. The Heat didn’t have an answer for Nowitzki, however – the Mavs star scored 27. But without help, his effort would prove to fall short.

“We’ll play better. I’m very certain of that,” said Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle. “Again, we had some opportunities that, shot we normally make, they didn’t go down. And so that was tough.”

Dallas was no slough on D either, holding Miami to 38% shooting. But it was the other things that made the difference, including rebounding and star plays down the stretch.

“Well, again, that was a grind. It’s tough,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “That’s a very skilled offensive team. We didn’t get into much of an offensive flow the entire game. This was more of probably a defensive battle.”

There is historical hope for Dallas as last time they met the Heat in the Finals, the Mavs started off the series 2-0. So no repeat performance there, although the Mavs would certainly prefer to have stolen Game 1 in Miami.

Notable celebs in attendance were Jimmy Buffet, Gloria Estefan, Ludacris, Queen Latifah and Terrell Owens. What a golf foursome that would be.

Game 2 is Thursday in Miami.

Image credit: Heat.com/Mike Ehrmann

- Mark Christopher