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 The Celtics played without Kevin Garnett (strained abdominal muscle) and Ray Allen (flu), and the third member of their star triumvirate, Paul Pierce, was scoreless for most of the first half.
Didn't matter.
Boston led by 17 after one quarter, 31 in the second before settling for a 22-point edge at intermission, and when Dwyane Wade checked out for good with 4:41 left in the third quarter the Celtics were up 88-53.
Former Heat guard Eddie House added 20 points for Boston, which outrebounded Miami 51-36 and improved its record to 35-8.
Mark Blount scored 20 points for Miami (9-34), which only matched its worst loss of the season, thanks to Earl Barron's jumper with 4.8 seconds remaining. Luke Jackson scored 14 for the Heat.
"It's almost as though the ending of the losing streak pulled the plug," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "Because we didn't bring anything."
Wade finished with seven points on 1-for-9 shooting, and departed after the third quarter with flu-like symptoms. The Heat lost Udonis Haslem, who was the only Miami player to start all 43 games, with a sprained left ankle in the second quarter.
Haslem left in a protective boot and will not play Wednesday night at Orlando. Wade's status for the game against the Magic won't be known until Wednesday morning.
By the end, there wasn't much booing.
Of course, most who stayed for the final horn donned Celtics green.
With Garnett and Ray Allen out, it seemed like Miami rated a chance of matching its season-high two-game winning streak.
That was the thinking before Miami -- which started this seven-game homestand with a 30-point loss to the Chicago Bulls and ended it with a similar dismal effort
-- missed almost every shot it took in the first 12 minutes.
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Boston raced out to a 31-14 lead, closing the first quarter on an 17-3 run after Miami shot 3-for-23
-- 13 percent -- in the period. Take Jason Williams' 2-for-3 showing away, and the rest of the Heat shot a robust 5 percent in the first, 1-for-20.
"They, in the first quarter, overwhelmed us with their quickness and their intensity and their play," Riley said. "It was right from the get-go."
And Rondo must have heard Celtics coach Doc Rivers' plea for someone to step up in place of the missing starters. He finished the first with 13 points, 3.7 more than his season per-game average.
The onslaught never stopped, either.
Boston used a 16-2 run in the second quarter to take a 54-25 lead, meaning this game was decided before Pierce scored a single point.
His first basket came with 1:48 left in the half, putting Boston ahead 62-34. His second, and only other, field goal was a 3-pointer with 6:17 left in the third, one that pushed the Celtics' edge to a stunning 83-48.
Notes: Boston is 17-0 in games decided by 13 points or more this season, and moved to 18-1 against teams under .500. The Heat are 1-9 in games decided by 13 or more, and 4-20 against teams with winning records. ... With Garnett
-- "The Big Ticket," as he's known -- sidelined, Pierce gave Glen "Big Baby" Davis a new nickname before the game. "He's ticket stub now," Pierce said. ... Former Heat forward James Posey announced his presence 35 seconds after checking in for the first time, drawing a charge against Wade. ... Some good news for Miami: Injured center Alonzo Mourning is walking without a crutch. He tore a kneecap tendon last month and will miss the remainder of the season.
[Associated Press; By TIM REYNOLDS]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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