Heat get rings, top Celtics
BY Associated Press
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
10/31/12 at 5:17 AM
Related Story: Thunder will debut new lineups with new personnel
LeBron James got his ring, then got cramps.
The Miami Heat found a way to beat their biggest rival anyway.
Dwyane Wade scored 29 points, James finished 26 points and 10 rebounds while missing much of the second half, and the reigning NBA champion Heat beat the Boston Celtics 120-107 on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams in Miami, Fla.
Ray Allen, in his first game with Miami since leaving Boston over the summer, added 19 points for the Heat, as did Chris Bosh, who had a late flurry that helped Miami prevail.
Rashard Lewis scored 10 for Miami, which saw a 19-point lead trimmed to four in the final minutes before finding a way to close it out - even while James, last season's MVP of both the regular season and NBA Finals, was in the locker room for the second time because of the cramps.
Paul Pierce scored 23 points, Rajon Rondo finished with 20 points and 13 assists, and Leandro Barbosa scored 16 for Boston. The Celtics, who lost to the Heat in last season's Eastern Conference finals, were not on the court for the ring ceremony.
They almost wrecked the festive mood with a late comeback.
An 11-2 run late in the fourth quarter got Boston within 111-107 on Courtney Lee's layup with 2:09 left. That was the last Celtics' hurrah - Bosh scored the game's next seven points, sealing it for Miami.
The Heat got their championship rings from owner Micky Arison and watched the banner commemorating last season's title get hoisted in a pregame ceremony replete with an indoor fireworks show.
Jeff Green, a former member of the Oklahoma City Thunder who had season-ending surgery for an aortic aneurysm last January, played in a game that counts for the first time since May 11, 2011 - also in Miami, when the Heat ousted the Celtics from that season's playoffs. Green finished with three points in 23 minutes.
Cavaliers 94, Wizards 84: In Cleveland, Kyrie Irving scored 29 points, Anderson Varejao had a career-high 23 rebounds and Cleveland opened the season by defeating short-handed Washington.
Rookie Dion Waiters added 17 points for the Cavs, who led by 16 in the third quarter but needed big plays from Irving and Varejao in the final minutes to hold off the Wizards. Varejao had a career-high nine assists, two setting up dunks by Tristan Thompson in the last two minutes.
Jordan Crawford scored 11 points to lead the Wizards, who were without star point guard John Wall, power forward Nene and forward Kevin Seraphin. Wall, the former No. 1 overall pick, is expected to be out until late November with a knee injury.
Heat 120, Celtics 107
| Boston |
25 |
29 |
22 |
31 |
- |
107 |
| Miami |
31 |
31 |
31 |
27 |
- |
120 |
BOSTON: Pierce 6-15 9-9 23, Bass 6-11 3-4 15, Garnett 4-8 1-1 9, Lee 5-6 0-0 11, Rondo 9-14 2-4 20, Sullinger 1-2 0-0 2, Terry 2-7 4-4 8, Green 0-4 3-4 3, Barbosa 6-8 1-2 16. Totals 39-75 23-28 107.
MIAMI: James 10-16 4-5 26, Battier 2-4 0-0 6, Bosh 8-15 3-4 19, Wade 10-22 9-11 29, Chalmers 3-7 2-2 8, Allen 5-7 7-8 19, Haslem 0-1 0-0 0, Lewis 4-5 1-2 10, Cole 1-2 0-0 3, Miller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 43-79 26-32 120.
3-point goals: Boston 6-13 (Barbosa 3-3, Pierce 2-4, Lee 1-1, Rondo 0-2, Terry 0-3), Miami 8-16 (Battier 2-3, Allen 2-3, James 2-4, Lewis 1-2, Cole 1-2, Bosh 0-1, Chalmers 0-1). Fouled out: None. Rebounds: Boston 43 (Garnett 12), Miami 40 (James, Bosh 10). Assists: Boston 24 (Rondo 13), Miami 25 (Chalmers 11). Total fouls: Boston 23, Miami 20. Technicals: Rondo, Boston illegal defense, Miami illegal defense. Flagrant Fouls - Rondo. A: 20,296.
Cavaliers 94, Wizards 84
| Washington |
24 |
15 |
23 |
22 |
- |
84 |
| Cleveland |
31 |
19 |
24 |
20 |
- |
94 |
Washington: Ariza 3-8 1-2 9, Booker 2-9 0-0 4, Okafor 4-10 2-4 10, Price 2-13 1-1 7, Beal 2-8 2-2 8, Vesely 3-4 1-4 7, Webster 4-6 0-0 9, Crawford 4-13 3-4 11, Ja.Pargo 2-6 2-2 7, Singleton 2-7 0-0 4, Barron 4-6 0-1 8. Totals 32-90 12-20 84.
Cleveland: Gee 2-9 0-0 4, Thompson 5-8 2-4 12, Varejao 3-7 3-3 9, Irving 11-20 4-5 29, Waiters 6-14 3-4 17, Miles 1-5 0-0 2, Zeller 2-4 1-2 5, Gibson 3-5 2-4 10, Walton 1-2 0-0 2, Sloan 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 36-79 15-22 94.
3-point goals: Washington 8-32 (Beal 2-4, Ariza 2-4, Price 2-9, Webster 1-3, Ja.Pargo 1-4, Booker 0-1, Singleton 0-1, Crawford 0-6), Cleveland 7-20 (Irving 3-6, Gibson 2-4, Waiters 2-5, Walton 0-1, Miles 0-1, Sloan 0-1, Gee 0-2). Fouled out: None. Rebounds: Washington 49 (Barron 8), Cleveland 67 (Varejao 23). Assists: Washington 26 (Price 6), Cleveland 22 (Varejao 9). Total fouls: Washington 19, Cleveland 21. Technicals: Crawford, Thompson. A: 20,562 (20,562).
NBA standings
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
|
W |
L |
Pct |
GB |
| Brooklyn |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
| New York |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
| Philadelphia |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
| Toronto |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
| Boston |
0 |
1 |
.000 |
1/2 |
Southeast Division
|
W |
L |
Pct |
GB |
| Miami |
1 |
0 |
1.000 |
- |
| Atlanta |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
1/2 |
| Charlotte |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
1/2 |
| Orlando |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
1/2 |
| Washington |
0 |
1 |
.000 |
1 |
Central Division
|
W |
L |
Pct |
GB |
| Cleveland |
1 |
0 |
1.000 |
- |
| Chicago |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
1/2 |
| Detroit |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
1/2 |
| Indiana |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
1/2 |
| Milwaukee |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
1/2 |
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Southwest Division
|
W |
L |
Pct |
GB |
| Dallas |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
| Houston |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
| Memphis |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
| New Orleans |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
| San Antonio |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
Northwest Division
|
W |
L |
Pct |
GB |
| Denver |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
| Minnesota |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
| Oklahoma City |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
| Portland |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
| Utah |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
Pacific Division
|
W |
L |
Pct |
GB |
| Golden State |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
| L.A. Clippers |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
| L.A. Lakers |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
| Phoenix |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
| Sacramento |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
- |
Tuesday
Cleveland 94, Washington 84
Miami 120, Boston 107
Dallas at L.A. Lakers
Wednesday
Denver at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.
Indiana at Toronto, 6 p.m.
Houston at Detroit, 6:30 p.m.
Sacramento at Chicago, 7 p.m.
San Antonio at New Orleans, 7 p.m., NBA-256
Dallas at Utah, 8 p.m.
Golden State at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Memphis at L.A. Clippers, 9:30 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Portland, 9:30 p.m., NBA-256
Thursday
New York at Brooklyn, 6 p.m., TNT-29
Oklahoma City at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m., TNT-29
Associated Images:
The Celtics' Paul Pierce fouls the Heat's Ray Allen (left) during the first half of their season-opening game Tuesday night in Miami, Fla. J. PAT CARTER / Associated Press
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