Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Ray Allen hit 5-of-6 from behind the arc and scored a team-high 24 points to help the Celtics close out their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Heat with a 96-86 Game 5 victory at TD Garden.
Take Two: Celtics Try Again To Send Heat Packing In Tonight’s Game 5
Paul Pierce chipped in 21 points, Kevin Garnett added 14 and Rajon Rondo filled the stat sheet with 16 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds for Boston, which made it to the conference semifinals last season before bowing out to the Orlando Magic.
Dwyane Wade, who scored a franchise playoff-record 46 points in Game 4 to carry Miami to its only win in the series, logged 31 points on 10-of-24 shooting to go with 10 assists and eight rebounds in possibly his final game in a Heat uniform.
Mario Chalmers scored 20 points off the bench for the Heat, while starters Quentin Richardson, Michael Beasley and Jermaine O'Neal combined to shoot 5-of-21 for a total of 13 points.
Wade, who has the right to opt-out of his contract and become a free agent on July 1, finished off a three-point play less than two minutes into the fourth quarter to get Miami within 73-70 after trailing big in the third.
Allen answered with a three-point play of his own -- aided by a goaltending violation -- and the Celtics scored six straight near the midway point to go up 88-76 on Garnett’s jumper just inside the three-point line.
With 2 1/2 minutes left, Wade put in another basket while being fouled, with his free throw making it 91-83.
After Allen countered with a three, Chalmers hit one of his own from behind the arc, and following an offensive foul on Garnett, Miami had a chance to make it a two-possession game.
Wade, though, turned the ball over and Pierce rattled in a jumper for a 10- point lead with 1:18 remaining. Chalmers’ missed three at the other end essentially sealed the outcome, and allowed the Celtics an early entrance into the second round.
Boston scored the final six points of the first quarter to build a 29-21 lead, which moved to a dozen, 42-30, late in the second after two Pierce free throws capped a 9-1 run with 3:55 left in the half.
The hosts went into halftime with a 48-38 advantage and quickly made it a 21- point game five minutes into the third quarter.
In a four-possession span, Garnett converted a three-point play and Allen had a trio of makes from long range. After a Miami timeout, Wade turned the ball over, and Kendrick Perkins laid one in off a behind-the-back feed from Rondo, resulting in a 67-46 game with just under seven minutes left.
That bucket, however, proved to be Boston’s last field goal of the frame, as Miami’s 19-4 run -- highlighted by a pair of three-point makes by Chalmers and Wade -- cut Miami’s deficit to 71-65 with 12 minutes to play.
Wade has scored in double-figures in a franchise record 63 consecutive playoff games...The Celtics have won nine of 10 and 15 of 17 against Miami, including this set. This is the first time these two franchises had met in the postseason...Perkins, who was whistled for a technical foul midway through the second quarter, logged eight points for Boston, which shot 48.6 percent overall compared the Miami’s 39.2 percent effort...Miami turned the ball over 20 times.
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