The Miami Heat took a 1-0 lead in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals with a 93-79 win over the Boston Celtics in Miami last night. As tends to happen whenever the Heat win, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade led the way for Miami. James scored 32 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Wade added 22 points and recorded a team-leading seven assists.
Over at Peninsula Is Mightier, Diego Quezada notes that James and Wade also dominated their individual match-ups:
The three-time MVP recorded 32 points on 13-of-22 shooting from the field and 13 rebounds on the night. Paul Pierce, by contrast, shot just 5-of-18 from the field for 12 points and three boards. In the pivotal third-quarter, Wade threw a full-court pass to James for an easy lay-in. He then blocked a Rajon Rondo attempt at the end of the shot block. Yes, he was fantastic.
James' co-star scored 10 of his 22 points in the fourth and shot 8-of-13 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line. Wade also had seven assists, becoming a willing passer when the Celtics sent two defenders at him. Like James, Wade dominated his match-up. The all-time leading 3-point shooter went a dismal 1-for-7 from the field and missed four free throws.
At CelticsBlog, Jeff Clark says that game one came down to only one team being able to execute:
A lot of people are going to want to make excuses for this game. Not me.
So the refs called a few ticky-tac technicals. So what? The Heat missed 2 of those free throws (ball don't lie).
So the Celtics are banged up. Chris Bosh. Enough said.
The Celtics lost this game because the Heat executed and the Celtics did not. The Heat made baskets, the Celtics did not.
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. VisitCelticsBlog and SB Nation Boston for the opponent's perspective during the series. For all your Conference Finals analysis, visit SB Nation's NBA hub.