The Heat looked great in Game 1 on Sunday, beating the rested Celtics 99-90 behind 38 points from Dwyane Wade. That wasn’t overly surprising even though Wade averaged less than 13 points per game in the season vs. Boston, his lowest against any opponent. Wade now has four-consecutive postseason 30-point games against the Celtics, and six consecutive 25-point postseason games against the Celtics. What was shocking was the 25 points off the bench from James Jones for Miami.

For Boston, Rajon Rondo was a huge disappointment. After picking up three early fouls, Rondo only played eight minutes in the first half, did not record an assist and the Celtics trailed by 15 at halftime and the game was essentially over at that point. Kevin Garnett also struggled, going 3-for-9 from the field for just six points. The Celtics will never beat the Heat if Rondo and KG combine for 14 points. The veteran C’s seemed to be the bunch that last their composure. Paul Pierce was ejected with 7 minutes left, after picking up two technicals in skirmishes with Wade and Jones within a span of 59 seconds. Pierce avoided any further punishment despite it looking like he headbutted Jones. An NBA official said Monday that the contact by Pierce was not deemed a headbutt, which lead referee Dan Crawford also said in a postgame statement issued Sunday.

Meanwhile, as of this writing it’s still not clear if Shaquille O’Neal will be able to play in Game 2 – he has yet to suit up in the playoffs. Coach Doc Rivers would only say there was a “chance” Shaq would play.

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