Avery Bradley's clutch play preserves Boston Celtics' 105-95 road win against Miami Heat

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2015/11/boston_celtics_miami_heat.html#incart_river_index



Avery Bradley's clutch play preserves Boston Celtics' 105-95 road win against Miami Heat





Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic (7) leaps to shoot as Boston Celtics center Jared Sullinger (7) defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Nov. 30, 2015, in Miami. (AP Photo/Joe Skipper)

Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com

on November 30, 2015 at 10:00 PM, updated December 01, 2015 at 12:22 AM




MIAMI, Fla. -- The Boston Celtics are capable of anything. Expect darkness and they give you sunshine. Predict snow and they provide beach weather. Think a sub-par offense should struggle against the NBA's No. 2-ranked defense and you might be very surprised, at least for a half, and then Avery Bradley might pile important shots on top of each other to keep his team from surrendering a big advantage.

After taking one on the chin this weekend, the Celtics were frustrated enough to complain about Brad Stevens' rotations. But on the second leg of a road back-to-back, they snapped back against the Miami Heat, rolling together a powerful first half and holding on to a 105-95 win thanks largely to Bradley's stream of clutch buckets.

Dwyane Wade (30 points) ascended to that place stars go and the Heat found a rhythm in the second half, but Bradley (25 points, including 17 after halftime) refused to let a 14-point lead slip away. When the Heat crept close, he hit threes, he hit midrange jumpers, he hit a 28-footer that pushed a one-point lead out to four. The latter shot came with 10:08 left and kicked off a 13-3 run.

Wade had more heroics left, but the Celtics held on. Since the beginning of the season, they have been like a reality TV relationship, cuddling one night, bickering the next, broken up and perfectly happy and very little in between. They blow out playoff teams, crumble against average opponents, and return the next night to a land of endless possibilities.

Sometimes, they're a whole lot of fun.


The powerful first half

Midway through the first quarter, the Celtics were experiencing a rough start, as they tend to do. But once both teams turned to their benches, Boston started forcing turnovers and converting at the other end. Jae Crowder's steal turned into an Evan Turner alley-oop. Turner's steal turned into a Crowder tip-in. Jonas Jerebko's steal provided another possession, which the Celtics capitalized with two Crowder free throws. Especially against such a strong defense, this is who the Celtics need to be: a rugged group that turns defense into offense.

Turner (13 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals) had a strong first half and the rest of his teammates dug in. While they didn't sustain their first-quarter run forever, the effort never left. Nor did the balance, as evidenced by the first half box score:



Or their final box score:




Midway through the third quarter, a few live-ball turnovers gave the Heat a bit of rhythm, and they chopped away at a 14-point deficit. Wade got going. Chris Bosh (21 points) and Hassan Whiteside worked for a few buckets inside. Boston's lead might have been erased entirely if not for Bradley, who knocked down a series of timely shots when the Celtics needed them the most. His 12 points in the frame kept things from breaking bad.


Wade's late run

With six minutes left, the Celtics took an 11-point lead, and looked like they would not need to worry much down the stretch. Instead, Bradley hit the bench, Wade scored six points over the next 1:07, and the game turned fiercely competitive.

After Stevens went right back to Bradley, he stripped Wade a couple of moments later. But Miami's future Hall of Famer wasn't done. He scored another bucket, anticipated an entry pass for a steal, and cut the Celtics lead to three.

The Celtics got a little ambitious with their late-game offense -- including Bradley, who committed a turnover on a rare dribble-move heat check, and missed a tough stepback three a couple of minutes later. But when Miami had a chance to cut a five-point lead late, Bradley swatted a Wade pass away to preserve the win he wouldn't let go.


http://vod.aka.oss1.performgroup.com/ePlayer2/20151201/2jtk8zanrnca1tezt6rgt4rq9_280000.mp4



bob



.