National Basketball Association
Miami 100, Boston 84
When: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 21, 2014
Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Officials:
#35 Kane Fitzgerald, #22 Bill Spooner, #34 Kevin Cutler
Attendance:
19720
By SportsDirect Inc.
Heat 100, Celtics 84: Luol Deng scored 23 points and rookie James Ennis added a career-high 16 to go with eight rebounds off the bench as short-handed Miami snapped a five-game home losing streak.
Norris Cole scored 15 points and Mario Chalmers added 11 points and 10 assists for the Heat, who were without their top two scorers in Dwyane Wade (knee) and Chris Bosh (calf). Shawne Williams also scored 11 and Udonis Haslem had 10 as Miami won for only the fourth time in 12 games.
Tyler Zeller scored 13 of his team-high 22 points in the third quarter for the Celtics, who had won three straight. Jeff Green and Kelly Olynyk scored 13 apiece for Boston, which shot 39.8 percent overall and was 6-for-23 from 3-point range.
Zeller's three-point play pulled Boston within 56-51 with 9:12 left in the third quarter, but that was as close as it got in the second half, as Miami answered with a 9-0 burst. The Celtics made one more surge to pull within eight on Green's 3-pointer with 5:54 left, but Ennis hit one from behind the arc at the other end and Boston didn't get within single digits again.
Boston's only lead came at 2-0 before Miami responded with nine straight points and led by as many as 10 in the first quarter. A 6-0 spurt midway through the second pushed the Heat lead to 47-32, but the Celtics were able to trim their deficit to 52-42 before halftime.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Celtics rookie PG Marcus Smart made his first start in Boston's second game since trading Rajon Rondo to Dallas and scored three points in 28 minutes. … Heat C Justin Hamilton went to the locker room in the third quarter with a headache and did not return. … The three players acquired in the Rondo trade -- PG Jameer Nelson, PF Brandan Wright and SF Jae Crowder -- made their Boston debuts and combined for nine points and seven rebounds in 40 minutes.
Top Game Performances
| Boston |
|
Miami |
|
Tyler Zeller 22 |
Scoring |
Luol Deng 23 |
|
Avery Bradley 4 |
Assists |
Mario Chalmers 10 |
|
Tyler Zeller 8 |
Rebounds |
James Ennis 8 |
|
Kelly Olynyk 3 |
Free Throws Made |
James Ennis 6 |
|
Avery Bradley 2 |
Steals |
Chris Andersen 2 |
|
Tyler Zeller 2 |
Blocks |
Shawne Williams 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Boston
|
84 |
39.8 |
6-23 |
12-15 |
22 |
42 |
4 |
6 |
15 |
| Miami
|
100 |
47.4 |
6-21 |
20-26 |
18 |
38 |
3 |
9 |
11 |
Upcoming Games
-
Miami will play their next game at home against Philadelphia. The Heat have a W/L % of .385 after a win and .533 after a loss.
-
Boston will play their next game on the road against Orlando. The Celtics have a W/L % of .545 after a win and .286 after a loss.