Paul Pierce Drills Game Winner at Buzzer To Put Miami in a Chokehold

Dwyane Wade and his Miami Heat showed very early on that they meant business in Game Three on Friday night.  But ultimately, it was "The Truth" that closed out the game by draining a step-back jumper at the end of regulation to put Miami in the hole three games to none in the series.

Paul Pierce played magnificently, scoring 22 of his 32 points in the second half, nabbing eight boards, and nailing the game winning shot to give Boston the 100-98 win.

Pierce wasn't the only Celtic who got it done.  Ray Allen is on fire right now.  After having an off night in Game One where he shot just 2 for 9 from the floor, Allen has shot 55 percent from three point range and scored a total of 50 points in Games Two and Three.

The performances that Pierce and Allen had overshadowed a very solid showing by Kevin Garnett who finished with 16 points on 7 of 14 from the field.  KG has his swagger back.  Plus, Garnett proved that he learned his lesson after getting suspended in Game One for elbowing Quentin Richardson. 

In Friday night’s game, Garnett was able to maintain his composure and walk away without retaliating after Jermaine O’Neal threw him to the floor in the second half.  

No technical or flagrant was called.  The Celtics settled it on the court with the scoreboard.

Dwayne Wade played a brilliant game dropping 34 points, but he injured his leg late in the fourth quarter.  If Wade’s injury is serious enough to hamper his performance for Sunday’s contest at 1 pm, then Bostonians may as well get their brooms out right now.

Closing the series out Sunday in Miami would be huge for the Celtics.  A four game sweep would give the C's some crucial extra time to prepare for King James & Co.  Perhaps Chicago can beat up on Cleveland a little bit and make that series go six or seven games.

Either way, the Eastern Conference Semifinals are going to be a showdown.