By Justin Worsley
The NBA kicked off the 2010-11 season by putting the old Big Three against the New Big Three.
In the end, the senior group prevailed.
The Boston Celtics went on an early 12-2 run and never gave up the lead as they defeated the Miami Heat 88-80.
Miami showed their offense has not jelled yet, scoring only nine points in the first quarter despite adding reigning league MVP LeBron James and five-time All-Star Chris Bosh on their roster to compliment guard Dwyane Wade. Not once last season did the Heat score less than 12 points in the opening quarter.
Boston led by as much as 19 points at several instances, however, the Heat began to surge back in the third quarter, going on a 17-8 run to cut the lead to six points by the end of the quarter. James scored 15 of his game-high 31 points in the third quarter.
Miami went on another 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to make the score 83-80 with just over a minute to play, however, Boston slammed the door on a comeback when Ray Allen hit his fifth three-pointer to keep Boston ahead 86-80. Point guard Paul Pierce landed two foul shots to preserve the victory for Boston.
The much anticipated matchup did not quite live up to expectations despite the close score. Boston, who lost in Game Seven of the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers last year, swarmed Miami's stars and prevented the offense from scoring. Miami made only 10 of 36 shots in the first half.
Celtics fans did not hold back how they felt about Miami, booing every time James touched the ball and chanting "Overrated!" in the fourth quarter. TD Bank Garden Arean also gave out green t-shirts for every fan who purchased tickets in order to have a green-out.
Rajon Rondo was, yet again, a key component in Boston's offense, scoring only four points but dishing out 17 assists.
In his first game in a Celtics uniform, Shaquille O'Neal showed no signs of rust as the 38-year-old center scored nine points and gave out hard fouls against Miami, forcing the Heat to be able to score only 24 points in the paint.
"We're the team to beat right now," Rondo said in a post-game interview.
The two teams will meet three more times this season, but not again until until Nov. 11. Boston will travel to Cleveland tomorrow to face James' old team, the Cavaliers. Miami will be in Philadelphia to play the 76ers tomorrow.
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