Sports

Luck of Hungover Irish Gives Celtics Edge Over D-Wade-less Heat

Yesterday afternoon, as Bostonians eased out of whiskey-induced hibernation (doctors call it "alcohol poisoning") in a blanket of their own green vomit, they got a piece of good news: Police decided to drop the charges in exchange for an apology and a promise never to treat a lamp post like that again...

By Michael J. Mooney

March 19, 2009

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Yesterday afternoon, as Bostonians eased out of whiskey-induced hibernation (doctors call it "alcohol poisoning") in a blanket of their own green vomit, they got a piece of good news: Police decided to drop the charges in exchange for an apology and a promise never to treat a lamp post like that again.

Also: Dwyane Wade would miss the game against the Celtics.

Let's get one thing straight up-front: The Boston Celtics got screwed on St. Patrick's Day -- the one day a year the NBA should be legally obligated to let the Celtics win no matter what. But, on the most Irish of all holidays, not only did the Celtics not play in Boston (the most Irish city in America) but they didn't even get to wear green. They played in Chicago, and the Bulls wore green (and won).

But the universe made it up to them last night as the Celtics hosted the Miami Heat. The unlucky (for Miami) recap after the jump.

With Kevin Garnett out, Boston had been skidding lately. But the Celts had just enough to beat the Heat 112-108 in OT last night and lock up the Atlantic Division. Ray Allen also missed the game, but Paul Pierce sealed the win with 36 points.

For the Heat, there was a silver lining. With the team's MVP candidate on the bench, it went on the road against the number-two team in the East and pushed it to overtime. You can insert a cliched comment here about how the future is so bright, blah blah blah, but rookies Michael Beasley (21 points, seven rebounds) and Mario Chalmers (19 points, nine assists) looked really good.

Some more bad news for Boston, though: The green marker your friends used to draw those penises on your face isn't going to wash off for about a week.

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