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Rajon Rondo’s speed and Kevin Garnett’s near perfect shooting helped the Celtics overcome the Heat in Miami Sunday night, as Boston won its fourth straight, 92-85.

Garnett, looking more and more like the KG we know and love, scored 24 points on 11-12 shooting. The Farragut Academy grad appears to have built up his stamina to pre-injury levels over the past week, giving him the energy he needs to knock down late-game jumpers: Garnett hit the 18-foot game winner in OT in New York on the 22^nd; shot 5-9 against the Sixers in 30 minutes on the 25^th; and was a perfect 6-6 against the Raptors on the 27^th.

Combine his last three performances, and KG’s stat line looks all-world: 81% shooting on 22-27.

Interviewed after the game, Garnett was quick to shift the spotlight to his teammate: “We’ll go just as far as Rondo takes us.”

Rondo (13 points, 11 assists, 1 turnover) dictated the pace of the game, and the Celtics looked like an entirely different—and inferior—team when he was off the court. The proof is in the pudding, as the point guard posted an impressive +16 plus/minus on the night and led the charge as the Celtics opened up an 11-point lead in the third quarter.

It’s a lead that didn’t hold up for long, as Boston’s second unit struggled to make baskets and defensive stops. With 3:55 left in the third, a Michael Beasley (18 points, 7 rebounds) dunk tied the game.

The Heat opened up a five-point lead early in the fourth, as the Celtics failed to score a basket in the first two minutes of the final frame. Beasley, taking advantage of mismatches with Rasheed Wallace and Brian Scalabrine, scored eight straight Heat points.

Rondo re-entered the game with eight minutes remaining and righted the Celtics sinking ship with circus layups, assists, and suffocating defense. With three minutes remaining, the game was knotted at 82 apiece.

The Green hit their shots down the stretch as the Heat faltered, scoring just three points in the final minutes to the Celtics’ 10.

The Celtics will be back at it again at Charlotte on Tuesday night.

Notes

• The player formerly known as Jermaine O’Neal managed a 14-10 double-double, but was a relative non-factor in 30 minutes on the floor. Has any NBA star’s performance ever dropped off so precipitously? In 2007, O’Neal averaged 19.4 points and 9.6 rebounds a night. Last year, he managed just 13.5 and 7, a performance he’s mirroring this season, and O’Neal just turned 31.
• Heat star Dwyane Wade finished with 27 points on 11/23 shooting.
• Ray Allen (1-7 from three, noticeably off) gets a pass. Doc Rivers does not. What was the coach thinking, playing Allen a game-high 42 minutes, given the circumstances (Ray’s son was recently hospitalized)?
• Rasheed Wallace earned his seventh technical foul, putting him on pace to earn 23 techs on the season. That’s positively well-behaved for the man who set the record for technical fouls with 41 in the 2000-2001 NBA season, breaking the mark of 38 set by… Rasheed Wallace the season prior.
• The Celtics once again lost two important battles: the Heat grabbed 11 offensive rebounds to Boston’s 6; and the Celtics turned the ball over 15 times to the Heat’s 12. These are holes in the C’s game that must be addressed.
• Beginning with last night’s win, the Celtics will face a difficult challenge: seven of eight games will be on the road.

Tags: Boston Celtics, Dwyane Wade, Jermaine O'Neal, Kevin Garnett, Miami Heat, Michael Beasley, Rajon Rondo