Heat Vs. Celtics Final Score: Dwyane Wade Leads Miami To Win, Series Lead

Dwyane Wade spent all four games of the Heat’s regular season series against the Celtics struggling mightily. It took just one playoff game for Wade to change that narrative.

Wade scored 38 points, including 23 in the first half and 13 in the fourth quarter, as the Heat struck first in their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Celtics with a 99-90 win in Miami.

Wade buoyed the Heat in a chaotic fourth quarter that included Paul Pierce getting ejected after earning two technical fouls — one for a “headbutt” of James Jones, another for a hard screen and some jawing — multiple runs by the Celtics, and a whopping 28 points from a Boston squad that managed just 36 in the first half.

But he wasn’t alone: LeBron James had a quietly excellent game, scoring 22 points and adding six rebounds and five assists, and Jones was lethal from three-point range and as a foul shooter, sinking five triples and making all 10 of his free throws. And that made up for the other member of Miami’s Big Three, Chris Bosh, scoring just seven points.

The Celtics, meanwhile, have a number of pressing concerns to attend to. Ray Allen had 25 points, and Pierce had 19 points before being ejected, but no other Celtic broke into double figures. And the other two members of Boston’s core quartet, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett, combined to go six-for-19 from the field and score just 18 points.

If the Celtics could have sustained any of their runs, this could have been a road win in a hostile environment against an unproven team. Instead, with Pierce boiling over and most of the Celtics misfiring, the Heat have a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2 of the series is Tuesday night in Miami.

Be sure to follow our Heat vs. Celtics hub for full series coverage. For more on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier. For more on the Celtics, visit CelticsBlog and SB Nation Boston.