MIAMI – The first truly hard foul of the game came about five minutes after tip-off, when Rajon Rondo wrapped his arms around LeBron James to thwart a fast break.
Fans immediately reacted angrily.
But by day’s end, that hit would seem like a mere love tap. And already, the Miami-Boston series is boiling over with emotion.
Dwyane Wade scored 38 points on 14-of-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 in a game marked by five technical fouls, one flagrant foul and the ejection of Boston’s Paul Pierce with 7 minutes remaining.
“We’re going to have to fight for every inch, every game we get,” Wade said. “Right now, we won Game 1. We’re supposed to. We’ll go back and focus on winning Game 2. We’re at home, we have home-court advantage. They’re just trying to come in and steal one like they’ve done in the past. So it’s our job to come out with the same mentality in the next one.”
Game 2 is Tuesday.
Within minutes of Sunday’s game ending, workers began turning AmericanAirlines Arena from a basketball facility into
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