from Miami Herald

["Ozersky, Joshua A" <OzerskyJA@corning.com>]

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Heat gets a third strike, but the Celtics are out  



 
By IRA WINDERMAN Staff Writer
       MIAMI -- Bring on the Knicks.
    Just don't bring back the Celtics anymore.
    Burned for the third time this season by Boston, the Heat exited
Thursday night's 107-96 loss at Miami Arena thankful the Celtics won't be
anywhere on the playoff seeding chart.
    "That team seems to have our number this season," power forward P.J.
Brown said. "It was a horrible performance, especially on defense."
    With a too-little, too-late rally unable to make it closer than six in
the final period, the Heat was stalled in its bid to close in on its first
Eastern Conference regular-season title and a potential first-round meeting
with the dreaded Knicks.
    To clinch, without outside help, the Heat needs two victories in its
final four games.
    "We're a long way from achieving our goal. We've got Chicago and then
three real, real desperate teams," coach Pat Riley said of a schedule that
concludes against Charlotte, Atlanta and New York. "We simply, basically,
got our heads handed to us.
    "We have to be determined not to let any slide slip in. I think this
will get their attention."
    By closing out the season series 3-0, the Celtics joined the '95-96
Pacers as the only Eastern Conference teams to sweep a season series against
a Riley-coached Heat team.
    "Tonight should have been a steppingstone to our goals," Brown said.
"It's too close to the playoffs. You don't want to be playing like this."
    With center Alonzo Mourning missing the second game in what is expected
to be a three-game injury absence because of a slight fracture near his
right eye, the Heat offered no defense against a team that will miss the
playoffs for a fourth straight season.
    "They got on a roll and that was it," Riley said. "We did not summon the
energy."
    It was the second time in the three matchups Boston surpassed 100 points
against the Heat, something that has happened only one other time this
season.
    The Celtics closed at 55.4 percent from the field, the highest against
the Heat in two seasons.
    "They are missing their best defensive player," said Celtics guard Dana
Barros, who scored 27 points on 9-of-10 shooting. "They don't have great
individual defenders, they have great team defense. So when the middle guy
is gone, it's the key to everything. That was a big problem for them
tonight, there was no Zo there."
    In scoring 40 points in the third quarter, Boston shot 7 of 7 on
3-pointers. A 15-0 run by the Celtics in the third period pushed the
advantage to 91-73 entering the fourth quarter.
    "That run was too much for us to overcome," Riley said.
    Heat point guard Tim Hardaway was ragged from the outset, his
season-high nine turnovers contributing to the Heat's 22. While Hardaway had
10 assists, he never appeared to have a grasp on the tempo.
    "I credit this loss to me," Hardaway said, continuing treatment after
the game for season-long knee problems. "I was turning the ball over all
over the place."
    Until forward Mark Strickland scored early in the fourth quarter, the
Heat's only bench points were provided by guard Terry Porter, who closed
with 15.
    What the loss showed was the Heat's inability to deal with pressure
defense or play in transition, a botched 3-on-1 fast break by Hardaway in
the first half the perfect example. Fortunately, up-tempo play is the
exception in the postseason, which the Celtics will watch from the comfort
of their couches.
    The Heat, on a two-game home losing streak, has been insipid in its last
two Miami Arena appearances. Its previous home game was Sunday's 82-80
collapse to the Knicks.
    While the Heat was without Mourning, the Celtics also were without their
leading scorer, forward Antoine Walker. But rookie forward Paul Pierce made
up for that with a season-high 31 points.
    Forward Clarence Weatherspoon, starting in place of Mourning, led the
Heat with 19.
Joshua Ozersky
Marketing Communications
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