The Miami Heat pulled away against the Boston Celtics in Tuesday night's season opener, and did it without LeBron James for much of the second half. James went to the locker room in the third quarter, reportedly with cramps. He'd put in 26 points and 10 rebounds upon heading to the locker room.
It was a close game until the end of the third quarter when the Heat closed the period out on a 12-2 run. Miami was up by as many as 19 points when James opened the fourth quarter with a jumper. But after that, the Celtics went on a 25-14 run and cut the Heat lead to eight points, then later down to four points with just over two minutes left to go.
Chris Bosh scored on a layup and a pair of free throws to push Miami's lead up to eight points. From there, a couple of defensive stops and ball control were enough to hold the Celtics off.
In the final minute of the game, Rajon Rondo was called for a flagrant foul for wrapping around Dwyane Wade's neck as he drove to the basket. Rondo finished the game with 20 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds. Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 23 points.
Ray Allen came off the bench and scored 19 points in his debut with Miami.