Times wires
Sunday, May 1, 2011
MIAMI — Dwyane Wade knew his regular-season numbers against Boston were lacking. He also knew that wouldn't matter in the playoffs.
Wade scored 38 on 14-for-21 shooting, James Jones set a Miami postseason record with 25 points off the bench, and the Heat beat the Celtics 99-90 on Sunday to open their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
"It's a big game. It's Game 1, at home," Wade said. "You've got to take care of homecourt. These guys expect this from me. I wasn't giving it to them in the regular season vs. them, and I wanted to come out (Sunday) and be a leader."
LeBron James finished with 22 points, six rebounds and five assists for Miami, which led by as many as 19 before a fiery finish. Paul Pierce, who scored 19, was ejected with 7 minutes left, picking up two technicals in skirmishes with Wade and Jones.
Ray Allen scored 25 for Boston. Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett were held to a combined 14 points.
Pierce took offense to a hard foul by Jones, with a double technical called, then a few minutes later Pierce and Wade tangled, resulting in another double technical. Pierce screamed as he left.
Boston coach Doc Rivers believes Jones and Wade went at Pierce too aggressively. "I thought both were flagrant fouls, personally, and I don't think we should react to either one," he said.
Crew chief Dan Crawford said Pierce directed profanity at Wade, who dismissed what Pierce said as "gibberish.''
An Allen 3-pointer got Boston within 90-82, but Chris Bosh and Wade had Miami's next two baskets to restore a double-digit lead.
"Every game is going to go like this," Wade said. "We look forward to the challenge."
Heat 99, Celtics 90
BOSTON (90): Pierce 6-14 4-6 19, Garnett 3-9 0-0 6, J.O'Neal 3-6 3-3 9, Rondo 3-10 2-2 8, Allen 9-13 2-2 25, Davis 2-5 0-0 4, West 3-9 2-2 10, Krstic 0-1 0-0 0, Green 3-8 1-3 9. Totals 32-75 14-18 90.
MIAMI (99): James 8-19 5-9 22, Bosh 3-10 1-2 7, Ilgauskas 0-2 0-0 0, Bibby 1-4 0-0 3, Wade 14-21 8-9 38, Anthony 0-1 2-2 2, Jones 5-7 10-10 25, Chalmers 1-4 0-0 2, Miller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-68 26-32 99.
Boston 14 22 26 28— 90
Miami 20 31 25 23— 99
3-Point Goals—Boston 12-24 (Allen 5-8, Pierce 3-7, Green 2-4, West 2-5), Miami 9-19 (Jones 5-7, Wade 2-5, James 1-3, Bibby 1-3, Chalmers 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Boston 42 (Garnett 8), Miami 47 (Bosh 12). Assists—Boston 18 (Rondo 7), Miami 17 (Wade, James 5). Total Fouls—Boston 24, Miami 21. Technicals—Pierce 2, West, Boston defensive three second 2, Jones, Wade. Flagrant Fouls—J.O'Neal. Ejected—Pierce. A—20,021.
Grizzlies stun host Thunder in opener
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Grizzlies powered their way to another playoff upset, not that Zach Randolph considers it one.
Randolph had a playoff career-high 34 points and 10 rebounds, Marc Gasol added 20 points and 13 boards, and the Grizzlies beat the Thunder inside for a 114-101 victory in their Western Conference semifinal opener.
"We definitely believe," Randolph said. "Our confidence is up high. I tell the guys we can compete and play with anybody."
Just as they did in an upset of top-seeded San Antonio, Randolph and Gasol provided enough punch to give eighth-seeded Memphis a road victory.
Randolph and Gasol each scored 20 in the same regular-season game only once this season, but did it in Game 1 against the Spurs and again to negate the Thunder's homecourt advantage.
Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 33 points and 11 rebounds. Russell Westbrook scored 29, but the tandem couldn't overcome Memphis' edge in the paint.
Randolph had two games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in the regular season against the Thunder, and scored the Grizzlies' first seven points Sunday.
"You can't stop him. You've got to make them shoot tough shots like he's been doing, but if he's making them, he's tough to stop," Durant said. "He's an animal."
"I've felt like I don't get a lot of respect I deserve,'' Randolph said.
The Grizzlies scored 52 in the paint, and closed out the victory with 12 late free throws.
"We believe we can compete against anybody in this league," Gasol said, "and that's how we really think, because we've done it all season."
Grizzlies 114, Thunder 101
MEMPHIS (114): Young 3-7 0-0 6, Randolph 12-22 9-9 34, Gasol 9-11 2-4 20, Conley 5-13 5-6 15, Allen 5-10 2-4 12, Battier 4-9 2-2 11, Mayo 2-7 1-1 6, Arthur 2-7 2-2 6, Vasquez 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 44-89 23-28 114.
OKLAHOMA CITY (101): Durant 11-21 8-11 33, Ibaka 7-14 2-2 16, Perkins 1-3 0-0 2, Westbrook 9-23 10-12 29, Sefolosha 2-2 1-1 5, Collison 2-3 1-2 5, Mohammed 0-1 0-0 0, Harden 2-5 0-0 5, Maynor 0-3 3-4 3, Cook 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 35-78 25-32 101.
Memphis 28 29 27 30— 114
Oklahoma City 24 23 24 30— 101
3-Point Goals—Memphis 3-8 (Battier 1-1, Randolph 1-1, Mayo 1-3, Young 0-1, Conley 0-2), Okl. City 6-14 (Durant 3-5, Cook 1-2, Westbrook 1-2, Harden 1-3, Maynor 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Memphis 53 (Gasol 13), Okl. City 47 (Ibaka, Durant 11). Assists—Memphis 21 (Conley 7), Okl. City 16 (Westbrook 6). Total Fouls—Memphis 23, Okl. City 25. A—18,203.
Lakers-Mavs: Although they had a combustible meeting last month, the Lakers and Mavericks claim tonight's meeting in Game 1 at Staples Center is too important for any thuggish behavior. "We're not worried about anything that happened in the past," said Lakers forward Matt Barnes, who was tossed from the March 31 game after a confrontation with Jason Terry, who clobbered Steve Blake with a foul. "I'm not trying to get into trouble or technical fouls or hurt my team in any way."
Bulls-Hawks: Bulls star Derrick Rose was excused from practice to tend to a family matter, while Carlos Boozer (turf toe) participated on a limited basis. The Bulls host the Eastern semifinal series opener tonight vs. the Hawks. Rose says this round is "going to be tougher, with all the guys that they have in."
Coach of the year: Tom Thibodeau (76 first-place votes, 475 points) was named coach of the year by a media panel after leading the Bulls to 62 wins. Philadelphia's Doug Collins was second (210 points).
Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/wade-torches-celtics-and-inflames-pierce/1167228
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