MIAMI (AP) — LeBron James got cramps, Ray Allen was snubbed and Dwyane Wade was steaming.None of that spoiled the Miami Heat mood on ring night.
Wade scored 29 points, James finished 26 points and 10 rebounds while missing much of the second half because of cramps in both legs, and the reigning NBA champion Heat beat the Boston Celtics 120-107 on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams.
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There were actual fireworks before the game to close the ceremony where the Heat got their championship rings and raised their title banner. There also were plenty of figurative fireworks late, first with Boston almost digging out of a 19-point hole and, after the outcome was decided, Rajon Rondo flagrantly fouling Wade by wrapping his arms around his neck on a drive.
In the end, though, the first Celtics-Heat matchup of this season was like the final one of last season – with Miami winning.
“It was good to cap this night off with a win,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It was an emotional time for all of us in our organization.”
Even for the newcomers, like Allen. He scored 19 points – needing only seven field goal attempts – in his first game with Miami since leaving Boston over the summer. Chris Bosh had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Miami.
Allen got chants from the Heat crowd, which is nothing new. Except this time, they were positive.
“Never thought I’d hear that here,” Allen said.
Paul Pierce scored 23 points, Rondo finished with 20 points and 13 assists, and Leandro Barbosa scored 16 for Boston. The Celtics, who lost to the Heat in last season’s Eastern Conference finals, were not on the court for the ring ceremony.
They almost wrecked the festive mood with a late comeback.
An 11-2 run late in the fourth quarter got Boston within 111-107 on Courtney Lee’s layup with 2:09 left. That was the last Celtics’ hurrah – Bosh scored the game’s next seven points, sealing it for Miami.
“I thought they were the aggressor the whole game,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “They got on the floor where they wanted to get on the floor. They took us out of stuff that they wanted to.”
Rashard Lewis scored 10 points for Miami, which held on even while James, last season’s MVP of both the regular season and NBA Finals, was in the locker room for the second time because of the cramps, first in his right leg and then his left.
“It’s not an all-the-time thing,” James said. “I’m not too worried about it.”
The Heat got their championship rings from owner Micky Arison before the game, then watched the banner get hoisted to the rafters. More emotion came late, when Wade drove past Rondo – and the Celtics guard grabbed Wade around the neck. Wade appeared as though he was ready to throw the ball at Rondo in retaliation, and stopped himself.
“I thought he hooked me,” Rondo said.
Wade had a different opinion.
“It was a punk play by him,” Wade said. “The league will take care of it. He clotheslined me, with two hands.”
So Rondo raised eyebrows by putting hands on Wade. Kevin Garnett made news by not offering his hand to Allen.
As Allen entered the game for the first time, he trotted toward the Boston bench, exchanging a handshake, embrace and a few words with Rivers, who hasn’t hidden his displeasure about his former shooting guard’s decision to sign with Miami and didn’t sound certain before the game how he would react when he saw Allen in Miami colors. Allen then briskly shook hands with a few assistant coaches.
But when Allen tried to engage Garnett, the mutual pleasantries ended. Allen tapped Garnett on the shoulder as he sat on the Boston bench; Garnett didn’t even flinch, staring straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge the gesture in any way.
“I was just trying to focus as much as I could. I am such an intense person,” Garnett said. “It was a blank. Obviously he’s on the other side. It’s time to play the game, man.”
Allen didn’t seem flustered. His first shot in a Miami uniform was – what else? – a corner 3-pointer, which swished.
“He was by himself in the corner,” Rivers said. “You’d think we’d know better.”
Miami controlled much of the first half, taking a 62-54 lead after James went by Pierce and Garnett for a two-handed dunk and yell for the crowd.
The first Heat angst of the season came in the third quarter, when James walked slowly to the bench after a timeout with 4:40 remaining, favoring his right leg and then headed out the tunnel toward the locker room.
When he left, the Miami lead was 79-70.
When he returned to open the fourth quarter, the lead was 93-76. The Heat scored the final eight points of the third, with Bosh, Allen, Mario Chalmers and Lewis all scoring in the final 2:17 to give the Heat their biggest lead of the game.
James – who was dealing with a cramping issue, like he experienced at times in last season’s NBA Finals – opened the fourth quarter with a jumper to extend the run to 10-0, and Miami seemed well on its way. But he returned to the locker room a short time later, the cramps having flared up again.
“Once you start cramping, there’s nothing you can do about it,” James said.
Jeff Green, who had season-ending surgery for an aortic aneurysm last January, played in a game that counts for the first time since May 11, 2011 – also in Miami, when the Heat ousted the Celtics from that season’s playoffs. Green finished with three points in 23 minutes.
NOTES: Wade passed the 15,000-point mark for his career early in the second quarter, becoming the 123rd player in NBA history to reach that mark, according to STATS LLC. … Rondo had at least 10 assists for the 25th straight regular-season game. … The Celtics allowed 62 points in the first half; they gave up 62 or more only seven times in 379 regular-season and playoff games over the past four seasons. … Miami players wore sneakers with gold somewhere in the color scheme; James’ were primarily gold – in honor of the ring – and trimmed in white and red.
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