Deng, Ennis Lead Heat Past New Look Celtics

At least the Miami Heat still have the Boston Celtics number.

The Heat broke out of their slump, beating their old rival 100-84 to end their five-game home losing streak. The win moves the Heat to 13-15, while the Celtics fall to 10-15. Miami remains seventh in the Eastern Conference, widening their lead over eighth place Boston to a game and a half.

Dwyane Wade was a late-scratch with a bruised knee, forcing the Heat to start their 13^th different lineup of the season. Chris Bosh also missed his fifth consecutive game with a calf injury. But that didn’t stop the Heat from having six players scoring in double-figures, as bench players and youngsters stepped into the spotlight.

They took advantage of a Celtics team that just traded All-Star Rajon Rondo on Friday, incorporating new players into their rotation on limited practice time. Boston was led by Tyler Zeller, who scored 22 points and 8 rebounds. Jeff Green, who hit a game-winner least season against the Heat, scored 13 points, as he’s now the elder statesman for a young Celtics squad. Kelly Olynyk came off the bench with 13 points. The Heat were able to hold the Celtics to just under 40% shooting, while not giving up a single fast break point to a young Celtics team that loves to run.

Oh, and Evan Turner played! That’s all I got.

Things that pleased me: With Wade and Bosh out of the lineup, more of the workload was entrusted to Luol Deng. He certainly didn’t disappoint. Deng led all scorers with 23 points, on 9 for 15 shooting. When given the opportunity, Deng has shown that he can step up when the Heat need him the most. Deng is averaging just over 16 points per game in his last nine games, shooting 54% (55 for 101) over that span. Miami moves to 4-0 when he scores more than 20 points.

The James Ennis Bandwagon is back! It was sitting in the shop for the past few weeks, but checks have cleared and we were able to pay for the repairs. Time for me to get behind the wheel and drive!

Ennis carved out some rotation time on Sunday, with injuries forcing Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra to give him time. Well, that paid off, as Ennis scored a career high 16 points, and tying a career high 8 rebounds, in his 26 minutes of action. He was bouncing with a spring in his step that the Heat seemed to be missing, as he was active on both ends of the floor. His put-back dunk over Zeller was the highlight of the night, showing fans (and hopefully coaches) that his athleticism can be a tremendous asset for a team that lacks it.

Norris Cole had one of his better outings of the season, going for 15 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds. With Wade and Bosh out, Cole was aggressive with the basketball, picking his shots, while trying to set teammates up.

Things that annoyed me:  What’s a Heat game without a shooting lull? Miami shot just under 37% in the third quarter, and missing all four of their three point attempts. The Celtics were able to get deficit down to five points, before the Heat woke up midway through the third and were able to push the lead back to eleven.

But there was also a stretch from the last two minutes of the third, through the first six minutes of the fourth that saw the Heat only make three baskets, before finally closing out on a 19-14 run to finish the game. True, against a better team, this would have been the part of the game where the Heat would lose control. But they still were able to fight their way out of their slump.

Things that perplexed me: Shabazz Napier has completely fallen out of the rotation, and it seems that he’s on the main roster because of all the injuries. The weird thing is that this might have been the kind of game for Napier to rebuild his confidence against and old Jameer Nelson and Marcus Smart, while fantastic, is still learning on the job to be a point guard. Considering that Cole and Chalmers both started, Napier still not able to pick up backup minutes is a bit concerning.

Scale of 1 to 10, how bad did I want to throw a lamp because of Mario Chalmers?: 2. Chalmers recorded his fourth double-double of the season, going for 11 points and 10 assists. He definitely was looking to take advantage of Wade’s absence by trying to carry the offense on his back. When it became clear for that burden to go to Deng, Chalmers was more point guard than shooting guard, giving his teammates the chance to do something with the ball allowed Chalmers to settle into the flow of the game.

What we’ve learned: The Heat are clearly under the spell of a witch doctor or something, as they can’t catch a break with injuries. Wade’s late scratch jumbled the starting lineup, while Justin Hamilton left midway through the game with headaches. Still, the Heat were able to overcome those losses with an inspired victory. Yes, they were playing a team that just traded their best player and trying to mesh young pieces together. But this was a win that helped build confidence for the Heat’s supporting cast.

I’m going to guess that Wade sits out Tuesday against the red-hot Philadelphia 76ers (they won on Sunday, so that’s a big deal) to rest up for the Christmas showdown with the Cleveland Cavaliers.