Strong three-point shooting sparks Miami Heat

That’s five in a row for the Heat against the Mavericks in the NBA Finals. The Heat won four in a row against Dallas to win the 2006 Finals. Five years later, the Heat began the rematch with a 92-84 victory on Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. The Heat is 9-0 at home this postseason and plays again at AmericanAirlines Arena on Thursday before traveling to Dallas for Games 3, 4 and 5 of the 2011 Finals. After struggling against the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals,

Dwyane Wade returned to his more familiar postseason form Tuesday. He had 22 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in his first NBA Finals game since winning the 2006 Finals MVP. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 27 points on 7-of-18 shooting. Wade’s fifth assist of the night led to a dunk by Chris Bosh with 1:08 to play to give the Heat a 10-point lead. Assist No. 6 for Wade came less than a minute later when he found LeBron James for an alley-oop. James, who needs three more victories for his first NBA championship, screamed to the crowd and slammed his left fist against his chest. He scored a team-high 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Wade put the Heat ahead by nine points with 3:06 to play when he swished his second three-pointer of the game. Moments earlier, Wade blocked Shawn Marion’s midrange attempt to trigger a fast break. Wade’s three in transition was the Heat’s 11th of the game. Entering the Finals, conventional wisdom said the Mavericks’ stable of sharpshooters gave Dallas a distinct advantage from three-point range. That was not the case in Game 1. The Heat was 45.8 percent from three-point range compared to 40.9 percent for the Mavericks. James’ first exclamation point on the 1-0 Finals lead came after a powerful crossover against Shawn Marion. James followed with a driving dunk and was fouled by Marion. He converted the free throw to give the Heat an 85-75 lead with 2:48 to play. With three seven-footers in its rotation, Dallas entered Tuesday’s series opener with plans of dominating the glass. Instead, the shorter and quicker Eastern Conference champions consistently beat the Mavericks to loose balls and missed shots. Miami outrebounded Dallas 46-36, including 16 in offensive rebounds. Dallas had six. Mike Miller, playing with a protective sleeve over his left arm, pulled down a key offensive rebound with less than seven minutes in the game. The second-chance situation gave Udonis Haslem a clear path to the rim, which he converted into a three-point play to put the Heat ahead by six points with 6:36 to play. Haslem finished with seven points and six rebounds in 28 minutes. The Heat trailed the entire third quarter until James drained a three-pointer from the top of the key with 1:09 left in the period. The shot gave the Heat a 60-59 lead after trailing by nine points early the second half. Dallas began the third quarter with a 7-0 run to take a 51-43 lead. Juwan Howard, who returned to the postseason rotation to play important minutes against the Mavs’ large frontcourt, made a pair of free throws with 32.1 seconds left in the third quarter, setting the stage for James’ buzzer-beating skills. Howard logged eight minutes Tuesday and had three rebounds. James has performed well in the clutch throughout the playoffs and did so again at the end of the quarter when he nailed a turnaround three-pointer with time expiring to give the Heat a four-point lead to begin the fourth quarter. James was 3-of-3 shooting from three-point range in the third quarter, which was the continuation of a trend for the Heat. The first 36 minutes of Game 1 offered one of Miami’s best three-point shooting efforts of the postseason (9 of 21 for 42.9 percent). James entered the fourth quarter 4 of 4 from behind the arc, and reserve Mario Chalmers went 3 of 3 from that distance in the second quarter. Miller made his second three-pointer of the game to begin the Heat’s fourth quarter scoring. It gave the Heat a 68-63 lead with 11 minutes to play. It was just enough of a cushion to hold off the Mavericks, who cut the Heat’s lead to three points with less than four minutes remaining but never got any closer.

James is starting to own these playoffs

As LeBron James plotted and schemed to find his destination as an NBA free agent last summer, his execution couldn't have been worse. A decent, good-hearted man, he managed to alienate every sports fan who values the concepts of respect and humility.

Still, the man had a dream, and it was realized Monday night in Boston. Miami doesn't have its berth in the Eastern Conference finals, not yet, but Game 4 against the Celtics represented the essence of James' vision.

The fact that it happened in Boston - a 98-90 overtime win giving Miami a 3-1 series lead - was indescribably important. That's where LeBron's Cleveland Cavaliers came up empty, time after time, and there were those who questioned whether James could ever have an impact in that building.

He had more than impact Monday night. He owned the place. As much as Dwyane Wade was brilliant (28 points) and Chris Bosh was invaluable (20 points, 12 rebounds), LeBron had a 20-point first half that served as a formidable, ominous answer to the inspired play of Rajon Rondo.

Against most teams, with Rondo fighting off the pain of a dislocated elbow and contributing in every conceivable way, the Celtics would have taken a massive lead on the strength of pure emotion. It was James, methodically scoring both inside and out, who kept the first half close (53-50, Boston) and didn't let up, finishing with a game-high 35 points.

Let's take a moment to marvel at Rondo's performance. He wore such a stoic look, denying the Heat even a glimpse of his torment, you wondered if he'd somehow crafted a miraculous recovery. He brazenly dribbled with the left hand, used that shattered left arm to deflect a pass, picked himself off the floor after a couple of brutal spills, even threw a sweet lefty dish that set up a couple of Kevin Garnett free throws.

But the pain was killing Rondo. It had to be, and most the Celtics had admitted during the off-day workout that they'd stopped trying to figure him out. "If everybody's going to wear white, Rondo's going to wear green," said Ray Allen. "He's a ... I don't even know how to explain him."

Sometimes, no words are necessary. And here's one thing that isn't such a mystery (although the TNT television crew didn't mention it): Even at his best, Rondo virtually never shoots with his left hand. He'll go out of his way to use the right, and we saw a number of those occasions Monday night - including, regrettably, a wide-open layup that Rondo missed from the left side with 1:12 left in the game - a shot that, if made, might have prevented overtime.

In their own way, far more subtle, the Heat stirred up plenty of motivation. The old master, team President Pat Riley, spoke privately with his players after Sunday's shoot-around, all about history and respect for the game and what it's like to contest a huge game in Boston. "Pat's been through this," said LeBron, referring to Riley's fabulous coaching career with the Lakers. "He's seen everything there is to know about."

Then there was the first-half appearance of Udonis Haslem, a forgotten man on the Heat's roster after sitting out six months with a torn ligament in his left foot. Haslem was raised in Miami, a rough part of town, and as a member of the Heat's 2006 championship team, he truly understood what it meant to the city. When the Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks came after Haslem on last summer's free-agent market, offering far more than the Heat could afford, the "Big Three" - James, Wade and Bosh - each cut millions off their salaries to make sure he stayed.

"They all said, 'I'm in' without hesitation," Haslem said. "No questions asked. They respected me as a player, trusted me as a leader and friend. I told them, 'Thank you. You didn't make a mistake. I won't let you down.' "

Haslem played only three minutes Monday night, leaving the floor in frustration after two quick fouls, but wait until his name is called in Miami during Wednesday night's Game 5. That will be a high-energy moment rivaling any we've seen during this remarkable set of playoff series.

The Celtics will have serious regrets about Game 4. They hated to place so much responsibility on Delonte West, especially with a badly injured shoulder. They watched Garnett virtually disappear on offense, going 1-for-10 from the floor. But Miami's defense was the hidden story of this game, a suffocating brand of team-wide desire that made the matadorish Lakers (against Dallas) look pathetic in comparison.

In the end, James headed toward the locker room wearing a look of immense satisfaction. This is what he meant, so many months ago, even if the proper words failed him. The true story gets told on the floor.

NBA playoffs: Thunder outlast Grizzlies in three overtimes; Heat go up 3-1 on Celtics. B2

O’Neal’s return makes big difference

Shaquille O’Neal was active for a Celtics game for just the second time since Feb. 1, giving Boston a huge post presence and perhaps altering this Eastern Conference semifinal series. He scored 2 points in 8 minutes 29 seconds in the Celtics’ 97-81 victory over the Heat in Game 3 last night at TD Garden.

“I thought Shaq had a big impact in the second half, just his presence,’’ coach Doc Rivers said. “He came out of the game healthy.’’

O’Neal had practiced the past two days and participated in the team’s shootaround yesterday morning in Waltham. He came off the bench last night.

O’Neal was still walking with a limp because of his sore right Achilles’ tendon and foot. After workouts, Rivers said the veteran center made great progress over the past few weeks.

O’Neal was expected to return during the first-round series with the Knicks, but his recovery has been slow.

“With him, it will just be the eye test and whatever you think he can handle,’’ Rivers said before Game 3. “He looked good this morning and [Friday] he had a good practice.

“Obviously Shaq can’t do things that he could do 15 years ago. But when he comes in and fills a role for this team, he’s been terrific for us.’’

O’Neal gave the Celtics a much-needed post presence, a much-needed rebounder, and another inside scorer. When he has been healthy with the Celtics, he has been stellar. But he had made one game appearance in more than three months, and that was a five-minute stint during which he injured his right calf.

“It’s more just the power and the force that he can bring that will help us,’’ Rivers said. “He can do that in some ways offensively. And defensively, it’s no fun to drive against Shaq. Our guys learned that in practice.’’

Jermaine O’Neal remained the starting center while Shaquille O’Neal replaced Nenad Krstic as the first center off the bench.

Winning attitude The Heat have not won at TD Garden since April 6, 2007, when Shaquille O’Neal (22 points, 13 rebounds) led a Dwyane Wade-less club to an 88-85 win. Ryan Gomes led the Paul Pierce-less Celtics with 24 points. Who knew a few months later, the course of the Celtics’ franchise would change, and the current Big Three would run off 10 straight home wins over Miami (including postseason)?

Wade, who wasn’t part of that last Miami victory because of a dislocated left shoulder, said he realized how difficult a venue the Garden has been for the past four years.

“We’ve lost a lot of close games in this building,’’ Wade said after his team’s shootaround. “We’ve got to get over the hump. It’s playoff basketball. Obviously we’re a different team. We’ve got to come out on the court and we have to do it. We have to take all the punches they throw at us for 48 minutes and still be there standing at the end.’’

The Heat have a 87-57 edge in attempts from the free throw line in the series. The Celtics acknowledged that getting to the line has been the main issue in the series, especially when Wade scored 7 points in that pivotal fourth quarter of Game 2, all from the free throw line. Chris Bosh attempted 11 free throws in Game 2, 11 more than Kevin Garnett.

“Our game is, we’re attackers,’’ Wade said. “Myself and LeBron are two of the most attack players in the league when it comes to getting points in the paint, putting pressure on the defense. We’re not necessarily going in there and looking for fouls. We’ve been able to go in hard and get put on the line. Whatever the game calls for, we have the team to be able to do it.’’

The Celtics were fully aware that Miami scored 26 percent of its points in the first two games from the line and of Wade’s 66 points in the series, 19 are from the line.

“It better be [a way to keep them off the line],’’ Rivers said. “If you split [James and Wade’s] shots in half so far, it’s 60 shots — 30 of their makes have been from their greatness, the other 30 have been from our ability not to follow our game plan. We have to limit those 30.’’

Hot Hill Celtics assistant Armond Hill makes sure to keep a low profile, but he showed another side when he learned that a reporter Tweeted a Celtics strategy he wrote on the grease board before the game.

Hill was informed of the Tweet and quieted the locker room with his voice, warning reporters not to Tweet or write down any of the Celtics’ plans during their interview sessions in the locker room. As the media surrounded Ray Allen for a pregame interview, a still-angry Hill stood in front of the grease board, and later continued writing the game plan.

Not yet Although he was draining jumper after jumper during shootaround, Udonis Haslem is not quite ready to return from a right foot injury that has cost him five months. Haslem, who tore a ligament in the foot in November, is close to returning, according to Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, but the team is being cautious . . . To make room for O’Neal on the active roster, the Celtics put Carlos Arroyo on the inactive list. He has yet to make an appearance in the postseason. The other inactives were Avery Bradley and Sasha Pavlovic.

James and Wade score 63 as Heat top Celtics 102-91

Exactly 365 days after losing Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at home — his former home in Cleveland, anyway — against Boston, James was on the cusp of losing the upper hand to the Celtics again.

Not this time.

James scored 24 of his 35 points in the second half, Dwyane Wade added 28 and the Heat used a late 14-0 run to pull away and beat the aching Celtics 102-91 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday night.

"Feel good about it," James said. "Series is far — far, far, far — away from over. It's really just beginning for us."

James shot 14 of 25 from the field, and logged 44 minutes with no turnovers. Chris Bosh finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds for Miami, which leads the best-of-seven 2-0.

Game 3 in Boston isn't until Saturday night, and the Celtics may be particularly thankful for the break.

Rajon Rondo played through a balky back to score 20 points and add 12 assists for Boston, which got 16 points from Kevin Garnett and 13 from Paul Pierce — who retreated to the locker room for treatment on his strained left Achilles' in the first half. Ray Allen was held to seven points, and left with what he said was a bruised chest cavity courtesy of an elbow from James in the third quarter.

"Being down 2-0 doesn't scare any of us, doesn't make us nervous," Allen said. "It's just an opportunity to come out shining."

Boston tied the game at 80 on a pair of free throws by Pierce with 7:10 left. The Celtics missed their next six shots and Miami pulled away, taking command of both the game and the series.

And for James, it was delicious irony.

May 1, 2010: Cleveland opened the East semis at home with a win over Boston.

May 1, 2011: Miami opened the East semis at home with a win over Boston.

May 3, 2010: Cleveland loses Game 2, the first stumble on the way to falling in the series.

May 3, 2011: James gets what might go down as a breakthrough win — for him and the Heat — over Boston.

"We finally wore them down," James said.

Jeff Green scored 11 and Delonte West added 10 for the Celtics.

Even for a franchise with such fabled history as the Celtics, an 0-2 deficit represents a colossal challenge.

This is now the ninth time Boston has dropped the first two games in a best-of-seven series. In the previous eight, the Celtics prevailed only against the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1969 NBA finals.

And it's something this group of Celtics has never faced before, either.

The last time Boston lost the first two games of a playoff matchup was in 2004, when it was swept by Indiana. The current core of Celtics had lost Game 1s four other times before this series, then bounced back to win Game 2 each time, against Chicago and Orlando in 2009, then Cleveland and the Lakers in 2010.

"Nothing we can do about it," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "We've got a third game and we've got to take care of that. Whatever the past is, it is. They've won two games at home. But we can't allow them to play like this, or it's going to be tough at our place."

To win this series, Boston will need to prevail four times in a five-game span — which it did in the first round against Miami last year, then again in the second round at the expense of James and the Cavaliers in the East semis. So it can be done, but neither James (7-0) nor Wade (5-0) has ever been part of a playoff series defeat after their clubs won the first two games.

"This is a great team we are going against right now," James said. "We're just trying to give ourselves a good chance to win, just try to keep on attacking them, playing as hard as we can defensively, just trying to wear them down throughout the game, but it's a great team."

That's one of the titles the Heat are trying to claim, too.

James won the MVP award in 2009 and 2010, his reign officially ending a couple hours before Tuesday's game when the NBA made the long-expected announcement that Chicago's Derrick Rose was this season's top player.

James' name did not appear on nine of the 121 ballots cast. Wade was entirely left off all but 10 of the ballots; voters were asked to rank the league's best five players.

They noticed.

"At the end of the day, we don't really play this game for individual awards," Wade said. "He has two MVP trophies, which is awesome. I have a finals MVP trophy. Our body of work speaks for itself. What we've done in this game speaks for itself."

James scored 12 points in the third quarter, one more than he managed in the first half, to help Miami take a 72-67 cushion into the final 12 minutes. James then added the first basket of the fourth, but Boston answered with a 13-6 run over the next 4 minutes to knot the game at 80.

The outcome was undecided — momentarily.

That's when Miami's big run began, including a three-point play where James dunked and got fouled after Joel Anthony kept an offensive rebound alive. Mario Chalmers started it all with a 3-pointer — his only points of the night — off a pass from Wade, and Miami was on its way.

"Now the mental discipline begins," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "This thing is just getting started."

NOTES: All-Star guard Chris Paul sat near the Heat bench, with longtime James confidant Maverick Carter. ... Shaquille O'Neal (calf) was out again for Boston, while the Heat said Udonis Haslem (foot) still "isn't ready" to return from November foot surgery. ... Pierce played 33 minutes, giving him 4,259 in his Celtics playoff career, passing Dennis Johnson (4,258) for seventh in franchise history. ... Heat guard Mike Bibby's steal with 41 seconds left in the first quarter was his 100th in 87 playoff games.