Chris Bosh broke out for 24 points on 8-11 shooting, but the Miami Heat couldn't get a potential game-tying three-pointer from Mike Miller to fall in the closing seconds, giving the Boston Celtics a third win in the season series 85-82. Miller had a clean look from the top of the arc as the clock wound down, but it wouldn't go.
Heat Vs. Celtics: Chris Bosh Excels, But Boston Nudges Miami Again
That was one of few open shots either team got all afternoon. These two squads play defense, and play it well. That results in too many outside jumpers, and too many misses. The team combined to hit 7-31 from beyond the arc; Paul Pierce shot 0-5 on three-pointers and a shocking 0-10 overall. (That actually wasn't the worst shooting performance of Pierce's career; he went 0-11 against Cleveland in 1999.)
LeBron James scored 22 points for Miami, having been successful in the post early; he didn't draw many fouls, though, and his deep jumper betrayed him as it had almost everyone else. Dwyane Wade was pretty bad, continuing a trend against the Celtics this season. Wade shot 6-17 for 16 inefficient points.
Whether the media runs with this win as the final indictment on the future of the Miami Heat remains to be seen. It's worth noting that two of Miami's three losses to Boston were really tight affairs, this one coming down to a possession. Boston is clearly a great team, but nothing we saw on Sunday represents some impossible mountain to climb for the Heat. These teams, as it turns out, are pretty evenly matched.
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