James’ 30 First Half Points Power Heat and Celtics to Game 7

Thursday night, the Miami Heat’s reigning MVP LeBron James destroyed the Boston Celtics for 45 points, including 30 in the first half alone. The Heat handedly won the game in Boston 98-79. The Eastern Conference Finals are now tied at three games apiece. Game 7 in Miami will be 8:30pm EDT on ESPN. For that game, Miami is already a 7.5 point favorite. Tonight, despite losing to Boston in Miami for Game 5, Miami was somehow favored 2 points. Going into Game 7, the elderly Celtics will not be phased as they have faced this situation many times before, winning the NBA Champion in 2009-10 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Whoever wins Saturday night will earn the right to face the Oklahoma City Thunder, who backdoor-swept the San Antonio Spurs 4-2 in the Western Conference Finals.

In Game 6, LeBron’s will seemed unflappable. James shot a blistering 19 of 26 from the field and played 45 minutes. While some NBA pandits will surely find a way to criticize James for not getting his bench more involved, his performance in Game 6 was exactly what the team needed. Now, the Miami Heat have a clearly defined leader, attacker, and go-to killer. Dwayne Wade added 17 points on 6 of 17 shooting, but seems to still yet be ailing from some injury. Chris Bosh came off the bench for 28 minutes and scored 7 points. The rest of Miami’s bench was absent. Chalmers and Battier hit 5 combined three pointers to spread the floor for LeBron’s wrecking-ball maneuvers in the lane.

Boston was only competitive in the third quarter, where they matched Miami point for point. Rondo tried his best to take over the game because Pierce and Allen were once again largely absent. However, Rondo finished with 7 turnovers despite dishing out 10 assists and scoring 21. Pierce shot 4 for 18 and now averages an appalling 28% from the field in this series. During the regular season, Pierce shot 44%, his lowest since the 2006-07 season. For the Celtics to win on Saturday night, Pierce will have to make the open shot and drive hard to the rim to earn free throws.

LETS GO FREAKING HEAT!