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Heat Vs. Celtics, NBA Playoffs 2012 Game 1: Miami Takes Opener Of Eastern Conference Finals

The Miami Heat opened the Eastern Conference Finals with a 93-79 win over the Boston Celtics. Miami squandered an early double-digit lead by surrendering 35 second-quarter points to the Celtics, who pulled even at the half. But the Heat quickly regained control in the second half, pushing the lead back to 11 early in the third quarter with another impressive defensive effort. Miami held the Celtics to just 33 points in the second half, as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade put it in cruise control on the offensive end to secure the win.

James was simply fantastic, finishing with 32 points and 13 rebounds. He set the tone on both ends of the floor as the Heat led by double digits the entire fourth quarter. Wade added 22 points in an efficient 8 of 13 from the floor. But the role players were also huge for Miami, as the three-point shooting from Mike Miller and Shane Battier added a nice boost. Battier had one of his best games this postseason, posting a double-double effort with 10 points and 10 boards.

It was dominating performance that could be a ton-setter for the rest of the series. Game 2 will be Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Stick with this StoryStream for news and updates throughout the Eastern Conference Finals. For more analysis and discussion on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier. Visit CelticsBlog and SB Nation Boston for the opponent's perspective during the series. For all your Conference Finals analysis, visit SB Nation's NBA hub.

Photographs by cstreet.us, thelastminute, turtlemom nancy , fesek, kthypryn, justinwright, sue_elias, pointnshoot, and scrapstothefuture used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.