Celtics - Heat : Game 5 - Play by Play and Review

Boston Celtics hold on to clinch the all important Game 5 at Miami in regular time in another very close encounter 94-90 where we also saw the return of Chris Bosh . Celtics now lead the best of seven Eastern Conference Finals 3-2 with a chance of winning the series at home in 2 days time.

Bosh had not played for the last 23 days and 9 nine games and had to watch Heat from the bench due to abdominal strain and everyone was expecting for a short return in front of the home crowd.

Heat made the home advantage count and quickly went into a 7-0 lead in the first three minutes courtesy of a Battier jump shot and a Wade dunk and a three pointer. Celtics started off with their three point attempts and long shots and could only score through a nicely taken jump shot from Bass with a beautiful pass from Garnett. Boston then cut the lead down to 2 with 7:50 on the clock.

Heat took back a 7 point lead with 4:40 on the clock courtesy of poor shooting from both the sides but a very poor one from Celtics who missed some basic shots. Meanwhile Chris Bosh was introduced into the Game with 5:06 on the clock to an amused home crowd. Celtics’s poor shooting continued as the lead went up to 11 points for Miami with 1:17 remaining on the clock.

Kevin Garnett of Boston Celtics dunks in Match 5 against Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena in the Eastern Conference Finals

Bosh was an immediate impact making a turnaround bank shot over Kevin Garnett after a superb assist from the Cole. He then made a drive in to convert the basket and also draw a foul from KG and converted it. He was so amused and was very much animated with his celebrations, something one should avoid after a 9 game layoff due to injury.

Boston though did pull back three points to make cut the the lead down to 8 points at the end of first quarter with the score 24-16 in favor of the Heat.

The Heat were 8-15 FGs, 2-3 FTs, 2-4 3Ps in the first quarter as compared to Celtics who were 5-16 FGs, 3-4 FTs, 1-3 3Ps. Both attempted nearly equal number of shots but Heat’s first quarter shooting was very much better than the Celtics. While Heat had 2 turnovers more than Celtics, they out-rebounded Celtics by 5 in the first quarter. Bosh gave the Heats the required edge but he still could not contain Kevin Garnett.

The second quarter began favorably for the Heat and they took off from where they left in the first quarter. A layup shot by James and then another bank shot by him resulted in a 12 point lead for the Heat with 10:30 remaining in the second quarter.

Rondo’s jump shot, a free throw and Ray Allen’s free throws brought the lead back to 5 points with the score 31-26 in favor of Heat with 7 minutes left on the clock. Bosh was again introduced in the second quarter with 5:30 remaining in the second quarter. He was good in the offensive court in the second quarter and notched up 6 offensive rebounds and also drew fouls.

The lead went back to 8 points with 4 minutes on the clock with a Bosh layup and that is when the Celtics started pulling back things. Six straight points courtesy of Garnett and Pietrus meant the Celtics cut the lead to two points and the score 36-38 in favor of Miami with 2 minutes remaining in the first half. Four points each in the next two points took the score to 40-42 at the end of first of half with Miami leading Celtics by 2.

Bosh took a remarkable 6 rebounds in the second quarter in the 5:30 minutes he played with five of them being the offensive rebounds. The Heat were 4-13 FGs, 7-7 FTs, 1-9 3Ps, they had three less turnovers than the first quarter and their rebounding also improved with the number of defensive being same but the number of offensive rebounds increasing to six, five of which are credited to Bosh. The Celtics meanwhile shot 8-20 FGs, 8-10 FTs and 0-2 3Ps and thier rebounding increased with defensive getting better by 6 to a tally of 11 while the offensive remained the same.

In the second quarter the number of attempts were same, the only difference being the conversion rate where the Celtics were very better than the Heat who had below par shooting. The rebounding was nearly becoming same for both the teams with only a difference of two offensive rebounds.

There were some nice plays in the first half some of them are -

1. James from the three point line making the alley for Wade who runs in from the three pointer line in zero and dunks it to make it 11-7 for the Heat.

2. Norris Cole passes the ball to Chris Bosh who was being guarded by Stiemsma, turn around jumps and nails from the paint to extend Miami’s lead to 5 points at 18-13.

Chris Bosh of Miami Heat celebrates after nailing a basket and drawing the foul on his return game after 9 games against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 at the American Airline Arena, Miami

3. Cole again passes it from the left to Bosh who again turns around and converts the basket from the paint and draws a foul from Kevin Garnett making it 23-13 for the Heat.

4. James hitting the long three from zero making it 31-18 for the Heat

5. Rondo runs in from the center to the right cuts off Haslem and Chalmers to deliver a layup which comes out or the ring to James Jones but Kevin Garnett tips it to Rondo who receives it with the left hand and puts in the shot with his left hand making it 23-31 for the Celtics still trailing by 8 points.

6. James drives in pushing his marker Pietrus in and then jumps and nails the two pointer making it 34-26 to the Heat.

7. Kevin Garnett knocks the ball off James and in the attack Rondo takes the shot but it does not go in and Garnett collects the rebound and shoots it drawing the foul from Battier making it a three point play.

8. Brandon Bass shoots and misses and Rando takes the rebound but Battier knocks it off only for Bass to collect the loose ball and put in the shot to make it 40-42 for the Celtics who still were down by two.

The second half started evenly with both teams missing a shot a piece in the first two minutes and Garnett scoring four points through two dunks where one was through a superb alley oop by Rondo while Wade managed three points courtesy of a driving layup and converting one shot of the two from the free throw line. Wade again missed one from the free throw line after 30 seconds. 10 seconds later it was Garnett’s turn to return the favor who converted only one of his two shots from the line with the score being 45-46 and the Heat leading by a point. The scores got tied with 8:40 remaining on the clock through a Pierce drive in layup where he got fouled by Wade and converted the free throw making it 48-48.

The Heat then regained a 9 point lead with a 9-0 run in one and half minute which also included a three pointer from Battier to make the score 59-50 in favor of the Heat with 6:00 remaining on the clock for the quarter. But the Celtics replied strongly with a 15-1 run to the end of the quarter which included a Dooling 3 pointer and an amazing three point play by Kevin Garnett where he shot a dunk with a beautiful pass from Rajon Rondo, got fouled and converted from the free throw line. The third quarter ended at 65-60 in favor of the Celtics.

Celtics would also draw satisfaction from the point that Bosh played for about 4 minutes in this five minute period where they had their 15-1 run and could not contribute offensively. He was introduced to take the load off James and Wade and the Celtics managed to hold the big three from scoring. He just had one offensive rebound, one unsuccessful attempt on target, one foul and gave away a turnover.

The Heat’s shooting stooped so low that they were 5-15 FGs, 3-7 FTs, 1-5 3Ps. They had lesser turnovers more fouls and less rebounds than the previous quarter. While the Celtics shot 9-18 FGs, 4-6 FTs and 1-1 3Ps and committed lesser fouls than the Heat and two rebounds less than them.

Wade started off scoring with the first shot in the fourth quarter and then a 3 pointer for the Celtics by Pierce was replies by a 3 pointer by Jones for the Heat followed by a Garnett jump shot to take the score to 70 -65 favor of Celtics with 10:10 remaining in the game.

The lead was cut down to three after James nailed his free throws and Wade made a drive in lay up shot followed by Kevin Garnett’s alley oop dunk after a superb assist from Rondo. The score now read72-69 in favor of Celtics with 8:54 remaining on clock.

Miami then went into lead courtesy of a 9-0 run for the Heat in 2:30 minutes. This run included a driving layup shot and three pointer from James and two free throws and a driving layup shot by Wade which also saw Celtics 5 shots. This run was ended by Pietrus with a 3 point shot making it 75-78 with 6 minutes remaining in the match and Heat leading by three. This was followed by missed three pointer attempts from Jones and Allen and a missed jump shot from Wade and Rondo ended it with a hook shot making it a one point game with Celtic down 77-78.

Lebron James of Miami Heat on his way to the basket against the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the series

Boston regained a one point lead after Rondo and Garnett converted while Wade shot a two pointer to make it 81-80 for the Celtics. After Allen converted a free throw due to Chalmers Technical the score stood at 82-80 with Celtics leading by two.

Chalmers immediately made up for his technical with a three pointer which was replied from a three pointer by Pietrus making it 85-83 for the Celtics with 2:11 remaining.

A Wade driving layup shot followed by two free throw conversions by Pierce one out of the two free throw conversion by Haslem and finally a Pierce three pointer made it 90-86 with 52.9 seconds remaining. Meanwhile James missed a three point attempt which if converted would have made things tighter.

Chalmers missed a three pointer followed by a missed jump shot from Rondo which was rebounded by Wade who went to the free throw line after Pierce fouled him. Wade converted both the free throws making it two point game with Celtics leading 90-88 with 15.2 seconds remaining. Allen was fouled 2 seconds later and he converted his two free shots from the line making it 92-88 for the Celtics.

James made a drive in layup shot with 9 seconds remaining to make it 92-90 and Celtics lead down to 2 points only. Haslem fouled Garnett with 8.8 seconds remaining who converted both his shots from the free throw line making it a 4 point lead for the Celtics 94-90.

Miami restarted the game after a time out and Wade took a three with 5 seconds remaining and for the second time in two days Wade missed the crucial three pointer and Garnett rebounded to run down the time clock securing a 94-90 win for the Celtics.

Heat ended the quarter with 7-14 FGs, 7-8 FTs, 3-7 3Ps, 10 rebounds and 2 turnovers while the Celtics had 5-12 FGs, 7-7 FTs, 4-8 3Ps, 12 rebounds (first time in the Game they out rebounded Heat) but 2 more turnovers.

The second half also produced some excellent plays and some of them are -

1. Pierce drives in from the right from within the three point line and goes into the paint and nails the two evading Wade and Battier and also drawing a foul to make it a three point play and leveling the score 48-48.

2. Wade passes to James who left his marker and takes the jump shot and misses, Pierce is there to gather the rebound and hits the ball towards the board which allows James enough space to steal away the ball and put into the basket making it 52-50 in favor of Heat.

3. Rondo passes to a free Kevin Garnett who hops and collects the ball jumps towards the ring and dunks it while getting fouled by James Jones and another three point play making it 60-60.

4. Rondo to Garnett outside the three point line who in turn passes to Pietrus who knocks the 2 pointer down making it 62-60 in favor of Celtics.

5. Pierce drives into the paint and all the Heat players move on him leaving Dooling free at zero and Pierce knocks the ball to Dooling who nails the three pointer making it 65-60 for the Celtics.

6. Wade sees the opportunity from the half drives in towards the right and then comes back in cuts through the defense and completes the layup with his left hand making it 78-72 for the Heat.

Keyon Dooling of Boston Celtics after nailing the three pointer against Miami Heat in Game 5

7. Rondo passes to Bass as he did to Garnett for the hop and dunk and Bass does the same only to be blocked by Wade. The ball goes back to Rondo who directs it towards Pietrus who knocks down the three making it 75-78 with Celtics still down by three.

8. Pierce drives into the Heat’s paint and all the Heat players surround him and Rondo is also by his side. Pierce sees Garnett to his right and passes it to him who takes the baseline jumper and nails the two making it 81-80 in favor of Celtics.

9. Wade drives in with his left from the left gives the fake in the jump to Garnett and finishes the basket while coming down with his left hand making it 85-85.

10. 1 minute remaining and Celtic up by one with ball in Pierce’s hand who is guarded by James at the three point line. He dribbles and goes back a bit takes the aim comes forward and jumps and nails the three with the momentum gained making it 90-86 to the Celtics.

Heat shot a very poor 39% FG, 27% 3Ps and 76% FTs compared to Celtics’s 41% FG, 40% 3P and 81.5% FTs. Heat attempted 26 three pointers as compared to 15 three point attempts for the Celtics. This shows how much the Celtics have kept the Heat outside the line and how tough their defense was.

The Celtics’s was more of a team effort with KG getting 26 points, Pierce 19 points, Allen and Pietrus notching 13 points, Bass with 10, Rondo with 7 and Stiemsma and Dooling with 3 but for the Heat James got 30 and Wade got 27 and rest all were in single digits and they both took 60% of their attempts so over reliance on them.

Heat were perplexed by the strategies used by Doc Rivers as the Celtics kept switching from man to zone to man and sometimes played man but making it look like zone and which did stop the Heat’s rhythm.

Heat again out rebounded Celtics and this still is an advantage for the Heat and would like to capitalize on it. Boston should finish the series in Game 6 and avoid any drama for them which will surely be there if there is a Game 7 while Bosh’s return will be boosting for the Heat and they would love to get back into the series.

So lets see what happens as we Ship up to Boston!