Those East finals 10 years ago proved to be the last gasp of greatness for the Pierce-Garnett-Allen triumvirate.

'In an environment like this, you want to have a big game,' James said that night. Following the Heat's flameout in the NBA Finals the year before, Miami's Game 5 loss - punctuated by a fan telling the defeated Heat 'good job, good effort' as they left the floor - had critics suggesting it was time for Miami's big three to split up.Īll that did, however, was set the stage for what became the signature moment in James' career: his 45-point, 15-rebound game that helped Miami win in Boston, allowing the Heat to come from behind in the series and, a couple of weeks later, go on to win the title - the first in James' career. After the Heat took a 2-0 lead, Boston ripped off three consecutive wins, pushing Miami to the brink of elimination. Things were cranked up a notch the following season, with the teams meeting in the conference finals. It was the first time James or Wade had beaten Boston in the postseason. Then, it was time for the Heat to return the favor - first by smashing the Celtics in five games in the second round in 2011, closing out Game 5 with a 16-0 run to vanquish their rivals. Those collective failures helped lead to 'The Decision' and the three young stars in their prime deciding to team up. One round earlier, Pierce hit a buzzer-beater in Game 3 to all but send the Heat home for the summer. Pierce outdueled James in Game 7 in 2008, and then caused James to have one of his two worst playoff series of his career - along with the 2011 NBA Finals - to stun the top-seeded Cavaliers in 2010. The Celtics' star-powered ascent to the top of the East played a pivotal role in James and Chris Bosh choosing to take their talents to South Beach to join Dwyane Wade in the summer of 2010.īoston took down James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round in both 20. Boston won the 2008 NBA title and returned to the NBA Finals two years later. NBA conference finals picks: Will the Lakers continue to shock the world?Įverything ties back to the summer of 2007, when the Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to play alongside Paul Pierce.ET, TNT), meeting in the conference finals for the third time in four seasons - this is Miami's ninth and Boston's eighth trip to the East finals over the past 19 seasons - and that shared history could help inform what lies ahead. The rivals square off in Game 1 on Wednesday at Boston's TD Garden ( 8:30 p.m. While he has spent nearly three decades as the godfather of Heat basketball, lording over one of the league's most successful and stable franchises, Riley cut his teeth as a player and coach with the Los Angeles Lakers and spent many years duking it out for championships with their rivals in Boston.Īs Riley's Heat have consistently stationed themselves among the East's elite over the past two decades, the team most often pitted against them has been the Celtics. Riley's beef with Ainge, and the entire Celtics organization, was personal. 'He was the biggest whiner going when he was playing and I know that because I coached against him.'įor Riley, the animosity wasn't just about Ainge criticizing then-Heat star LeBron James and his tendency to complain about officiating. 'Danny Ainge needs to shut the f- up and manage his own team,' Riley said, via that hand-delivered statement. That night in New Orleans, a Heat public relations official approached the team's traveling media contingent with a message from team president Pat Riley that would immediately go into the annals of history. To understand the depths of animosity between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics entering this year's NBA Eastern Conference finals, you have to go back to an otherwise nondescript regular-season night in March 2013.

Editor's note: This story was originally published in May 2022 and has been updated to reflect Boston and Miami facing each other in the 2023 Eastern Conference finals.

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