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Celtics face lowly Heat, aim for third straight win

Mar 30, 2008 - 1:00 PM Miami (13-59) at Boston (57-15) 6:00 pm EDT

BOSTON (Ticker) -- After battling two of the best teams in the Western Conference, the Boston Celtics will get a breather on Sunday when they host the league-worst Miami Heat.

Boston, which has the best record in the league, is coming off a 112-92 win over the Western Conference-leading New Orleans Hornets on Friday.

It also is looking to creep closer to clinching home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Celtics are 5 1/2 games ahead of the Detroit Pistons (52-21) - their next closest competition in the East. Boston, which will face nine opponents with losing records down the stretch of the season, has 10 games remaining while Detroit has nine.

Paul Pierce scored 27 points and Kevin Garnett added 21 and 13 rebounds as the Celtics improved to 25-5 vs. the ultra-competitive West with Friday's win.

That impressive triumph came on the heels of a 117-97 home blowout of the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday. Garnett scored 30 points and added six assists as the Celtics snapped a two-game skid in that one.

"We beat two pretty good teams, I think it was a carryover from the two losses, it's nice just getting back home and wanting to play well especially these last (10) games we got left," Pierce said.

Meanwhile, the season cannot end soon enough for the Heat, who have lost 13 of 15 and own the worst record in the league. They are just 2-13 in March and are coming off a 85-69 loss to Detroit on Thursday.

Miami's roster is in disarray, as Ricky Davis was the only regular to play on Thursday. Minus Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion (back), the Heat have been forced to construct their roster with talent from the D-League.

Coach Pat Riley may not be with the team for this game. He left the team on Friday and Saturday to scout the NCAA Tournament games.