House Breaks Out As Surging Celtics Beat Heat

The Celtics (35-9) were mired in a 2-7 slump before responding with their latest surge.

The Boston Celtics continued their winning run with a comfortable 98-83 road victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday.

Ray Allen led all scorers with 27 points, and key reserve Eddie House had a season-high 25 in Boston's sixth successive win and fourth in a row by a deficit of more than 15 points.

The Celtics have seen a drop in their bench production this season, but House exploded for 20 points in the second quarter alone and finished 7-for-11 shooting from the 3-point line.

"When you're not knocking it down it tends to mess with you a little bit," House told reporters after helping his team make 15 of 25 3-pointers.

"But you've got to keep on shooting. If you don't shoot the next one you can't make the next one."

Dwyane Wade, the NBA's leading scorer, bagged 25 points for the Heat (22-19), who were returning home after a gruelling seven-game road trip.

Wade got most of his assistance from the team's bench, where second-year guard Daequan Cook had 20 points and No. 2 overall draft pick Michael Beasely recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds.

The Heat, who have been led by a young core to go along with Wade and first-year coach Erik Spoelstra, had won three of their last four games before facing the defending NBA champions.

Boston jumped quickly out of the gates against Miami, outscoring the Heat 29-10 in the first period en route to taking a 57-34 halftime advantage.

Allen led the way with 12 points in the opening quarter. The experienced guard has been hot as of late, averaging 22 points per game over the last six contests.

Kevin Garnett added 16 points and 13 rebounds and Paul Pierce had 14 and eight while the defense held Miami to just 40 percent shooting from the field.

The Celtics (35-9) were mired in a 2-7 slump before responding with their latest surge. On Thursday they will play the Southeast Division-leading Orlando Magic, who have the league's best winning percentage.

"We're obviously not where we want to be but we're starting to trend in the right direction," said coach Doc Rivers.

"We got off the track for a little while and gave some people a little hope. Now we have to keep improving and try to dash that hope."

NBA RESULTS on Wednesday (home team in
CAPS)
CHARLOTTE     101 Memphis      86
DETROIT       95  Toronto      76
Boston        98  MIAMI        83
NY KNICKS     114 Phoenix      109
MILWAUKEE     133 Dallas       99
NEW ORLEANS   102 New Jersey   92
HOUSTON       108 Utah         99
Cleveland     104 PORTLAND     98
Washington    110 SACRAMENTO   107
Oklahoma City 122 GOLDEN STATE 121
LA Lakers     108 LA CLIPPERS  97

NBA STANDINGS on Wednesday
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC DIVISION

               W  L  PCT  GB
 1. Boston        35 9  .795 -
 2. Philadelphia  20 21 .488 13 1/2
 3. New Jersey    19 23 .452 15
 4. NY Knicks     17 24 .415 16 1/2
 5. Toronto       16 28 .364 19
 CENTRAL DIVISION

               W  L  PCT  GB
 1. Cleveland     32 8  .800 -
 2. Detroit       24 17 .585 8 1/2
 3. Milwaukee     21 24 .467 13 1/2
 4. Chicago       18 25 .419 15 1/2
 5. Indiana       15 27 .357 18
 SOUTHEAST DIVISION

               W  L  PCT  GB
 1. Orlando       33 8  .805 -
 2. Atlanta       25 16 .610 8
 3. Miami         22 19 .537 11
 4. Charlotte     17 25 .405 16 1/2
 5. Washington    9  32 .220 24
 WESTERN CONFERENCE
 NORTHWEST DIVISION

               W  L  PCT  GB
 1. Denver        28 15 .651 -
 2. Portland      25 17 .595 2 1/2
 3. Utah          25 18 .581 3
 4. Minnesota     13 27 .325 13 1/2
 5. Oklahoma City 9  34 .209 19
 PACIFIC DIVISION

               W  L  PCT  GB
 1. LA Lakers     33 8  .805 -
 2. Phoenix       23 17 .575 9 1/2
 3. Golden State  13 30 .302 21
 4. Sacramento    10 33 .233 24
 5. LA Clippers   9  32 .220 24
 SOUTHWEST DIVISION

               W  L  PCT  GB
 1. San Antonio   28 13 .683 -
 2. New Orleans   26 13 .667 1
 3. Houston       27 16 .628 2
 4. Dallas        24 18 .571 4 1/2
 5. Memphis       11 30 .268 17