Big 3, big deal as Celtics beat Heat again, 112-107
Ray Allen took it to the basket against LeBron James.
MIAMI » New roster, same problem for the Miami Heat.
They just can’t find a way to beat the Boston Celtics.
Ray Allen hit his first seven 3-point tries and finished with 35 points, and the Celtics never trailed in a 112-107 win over Miami last night, beating the Heat for the second time this season and handing them a second straight home loss.
"Ray was unbelievable on both ends," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.
Paul Pierce added 25 points and Rajon Rondo had 16 assists, adding to his NBA-leading total. Boston has won 13 of the last 14 regular-season meetings with the Heat in addition to eliminating Miami in the opening round of last season’s playoffs. Then, the Celtics ended the LeBron James era in Cleveland a few weeks later, setting the wheels in motion for the Big 3 of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to team up in Miami.
A Heat team put together to win a title fell to 5-4.
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"We’re the best 5-4 team in the league," Wade said. "How about that? But we’ve got a lot of work to do."
Kevin Garnett had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Boston, which led by as many as 20.
James finished with 35 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, narrowly missing his second straight triple-double. Wade was held to eight points on 2-for-12 shooting.
The Heat got within 110-107 on Udonis Haslem’s free throws with 13.3 seconds left, but Allen hit a pair of free throws to seal it.
Nuggets 118, Lakers 112
Carmelo Anthony had 32 points and 13 rebounds to rally Denver past Los Angeles, handing the Lakers their first loss of the season.
Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 34 points and Pau Gasol had 17 points and 20 rebounds for the Lakers, who were trying to win their first nine games for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
Bryant came in needing 17 points to reach 26,000 for his career. He hit the milestone with a 13-foot jumper 49 seconds into the third quarter.
Down 105-103, the Nuggets took over. A 3-pointer by J.R. Smith and two baskets by Anthony sparked an 11-0 run that gave Denver the lead for good.
Bulls 120, Warriors 90
Luol Deng scored 26 points, Derrick Rose had 22 and Chicago raced to a 30-point lead in the first half en route to a romp over weary Golden State, which pulled out an emotional 122-117 victory in David Lee’s return to New York a night earlier. Lee did not play last night because of a cut left elbow.
NBA STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
| Atlantic Division | ||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | |
| Boston | 7 | 2 | .778 | — |
| New Jersey | 3 | 5 | .375 | 3 1/2 |
| New York | 3 | 5 | .375 | 3 1/2 |
| Philadelphia | 2 | 6 | .250 | 4 1/2 |
| Toronto | 1 | 7 | .125 | 5 1/2 |
| Southeast Division | ||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | |
| Orlando | 5 | 2 | .714 | — |
| Atlanta | 6 | 3 | .667 | — |
| Miami | 5 | 4 | .556 | 1 |
| Washington | 2 | 4 | .333 | 2 1/2 |
| Charlotte | 2 | 6 | .250 | 3 1/2 |
| Central Division | ||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | |
| Chicago | 4 | 3 | .571 | — |
| Cleveland | 4 | 4 | .500 | 1/2 |
| Indiana | 3 | 3 | .500 | 1/2 |
| Milwaukee | 4 | 5 | .444 | 1 |
| Detroit | 2 | 6 | .250 | 2 1/2 |
WESTERN CONFERENCE
| Southwest Division | ||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | |
| New Orleans | 7 | 0 | 1.000 | — |
| San Antonio | 6 | 1 | .857 | 1 |
| Dallas | 5 | 2 | .714 | 2 |
| Memphis | 4 | 5 | .444 | 4 |
| Houston | 1 | 6 | .143 | 6 |
| Northwest Division | ||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | |
| Portland | 6 | 3 | .667 | — |
| Utah | 5 | 3 | .625 | 1/2 |
| Oklahoma City | 4 | 3 | .571 | 1 |
| Denver | 5 | 4 | .556 | 1 |
| Minnesota | 2 | 7 | .222 | 4 |
| Pacific Division | ||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | |
| L.A. Lakers | 8 | 1 | .889 | — |
| Golden State | 6 | 3 | .667 | 2 |
| Phoenix | 3 | 4 | .429 | 4 |
| Sacramento | 3 | 4 | .429 | 4 |
| L.A. Clippers | 1 | 8 | .111 | 7 |
Yesterday
Chicago 120, Golden State 90
Boston 112, Miami 107
Denver 118, L.A. Lakers 112
Today
Utah at Atlanta, 2 p.m.
Houston at Indiana, 2 p.m.
Toronto at Orlando, 2 p.m.
Charlotte at Washington, 2 p.m.
New York at Minnesota, 3 p.m.
Philadelphia at Dallas, 3:30 p.m.
Portland at Oklahoma City, 3:30 p.m.
Sacramento at Phoenix, 4 p.m.
Detroit at L.A. Clippers, 5:30 p.m.
CELTICS 112, HEAT 107
BOSTON
Pierce 10-16 4-4 25, Garnett 6-8 4-5 16, S.O’Neal 1-4 3-5 5, Rondo 3-8 2-4 8, Allen 13-23 2-2 35, Davis 3-7 0-0 6, Daniels 1-4 0-0 2, Robinson 5-7 1-2 12, Erden 1-2 1-3 3. Totals 43-79 17-25 112.
MIAMI
James 9-21 17-22 35, Bosh 6-10 3-4 15, Anthony 0-0 0-0 0, Arroyo 2-4 0-0 4, Wade 2-12 4-6 8, Ilgauskas 3-4 0-0 6, House 4-6 3-3 13, Jones 1-3 0-0 3, Haslem 9-10 3-4 21, Stackhouse 0-1 2-2 2, Chalmers 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 36-72 32-41 107.
| Boston | 27 | 34 | 27 | 24 | — | 112 |
| Miami | 20 | 26 | 32 | 29 | — | 107 |
3-Point Goals–Boston 9-16 (Allen 7-9, Robinson 1-3, Pierce 1-4), Miami 3-16 (House 2-2, Jones 1-3, Chalmers 0-1, James 0-5, Wade 0-5). Fouled Out–Davis. Rebounds–Boston 42 (Garnett 13), Miami 47 (Haslem, James 10). Assists–Boston 24 (Rondo 16), Miami 18 (James 9). Total Fouls–Boston 30, Miami 22. Technicals–Robinson, Boston defensive three second. Flagrant Fouls–S.O’Neal. A–19,650 (19,600).
BULLS 120, WARRIORS 90
GOLDEN STATE
D.Wright 5-13 0-0 12, B.Wright 2-6 0-0 4, Biedrins 1-3 0-0 2, Curry 7-18 1-2 17, Ellis 10-20 4-4 24, Radmanovic 4-9 0-0 9, Gadzuric 4-8 0-0 8, Lin 0-2 0-0 0, Carney 2-5 0-1 5, Williams 3-7 0-0 7, Adrien 1-2 0-0 2, Bell 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 39-95 5-7 90.
CHICAGO
Deng 9-19 6-7 26, Gibson 5-10 4-4 14, Noah 6-10 5-6 17, Rose 10-17 2-2 22, Bogans 6-10 0-0 14, Brewer 1-4 0-0 2, Asik 3-4 2-2 8, Watson 2-3 2-2 7, Korver 4-5 0-0 10, Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Scalabrine 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 46-84 21-23 120.
| Golden State | 20 | 18 | 25 | 27 | — | 90 |
| Chicago | 34 | 32 | 28 | 26 | — | 120 |
3-Point Goals–Golden State 7-23 (Curry 2-5, D.Wright 2-7, Carney 1-1, Radmanovic 1-3, Williams 1-3, Bell 0-1, Ellis 0-3), Chicago 7-19 (Korver 2-3, Deng 2-5, Bogans 2-6, Watson 1-2, Rose 0-3). Rebounds–Golden State 45 (D.Wright 8), Chicago 53 (Deng 11). Assists–Golden State 20 (Curry 6), Chicago 29 (Rose 13). Total Fouls–Golden State 16, Chicago 7. Technicals–Bogans. A–21,140 (20,917).
NUGGETS 118, LAKERS 112
L.A. LAKERS
Artest 7-11 3-4 18, Odom 1-6 1-2 3, Gasol 6-17 5-6 17, Fisher 3-7 0-0 8, Bryant 11-32 9-13 34, Barnes 3-7 0-0 6, Blake 1-3 0-0 3, Brown 7-14 3-3 19, Caracter 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 40-98 23-30 112.
DENVER
Anthony 14-25 3-3 32, Williams 2-3 1-3 5, Nene 7-13 4-4 18, Billups 3-11 8-8 15, Afflalo 2-7 0-0 5, Harrington 3-8 0-1 7, Smith 4-6 3-3 13, Lawson 5-10 6-8 17, Forbes 3-5 0-1 6. Totals 43-88 25-31 118.
| L.A. Lakers | 26 | 38 | 29 | 19 | — | 112 |
| Denver | 24 | 35 | 26 | 33 | — | 118 |
3-Point Goals–L.A. Lakers 9-29 (Bryant 3-10, Fisher 2-4, Brown 2-7, Blake 1-2, Artest 1-3, Odom 0-1, Barnes 0-2), Denver 7-25 (Smith 2-4, Lawson 1-2, Anthony 1-3, Afflalo 1-4, Harrington 1-5, Billups 1-7). Rebounds–L.A. Lakers 63 (Gasol 20), Denver 53 (Anthony 13). Assists–L.A. Lakers 19 (Bryant 5), Denver 25 (Lawson 5). Total Fouls–L.A. Lakers 25, Denver 20. Technicals–Anthony. A–19,155 (19,155).
