MIAMI — Something about playing in Miami brings out the best in Eddie House.
The former Heat guard scored 20 points — more than he’d had in any game this season — in the second quarter, finishing with 25 and the Boston Celtics ran their winning streak to six games by downing the Heat 98-83 on Wednesday night.
It was House’s first 20-point game since Boston played at Miami in January 2008.
“Guys found me in open spots. They were fronting the post and we were moving the basketball,” House said, while teammate Sam Cassell chanted “Edd-ie! Edd-ie” in the background. “And I was knocking them down.”
He was 7-for-11 from 3-point range, Ray Allen was 5-for-6, and the Celtics finished a season-best 15-for-25 from beyond the arc, matching the most 3s ever allowed by the Heat in its 21 seasons.
Allen finished with a game-high 27 points, Kevin Garnett had 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Paul Pierce added 14 points for Boston.
“Eddie was phenomenal,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “And we needed him, too.”
Dwyane Wade accepted his NBA player of the month award for December at halftime, under less-than-ideal circumstances — his team trailed 57-34. Wade finished with 25 points, Daequan Cook scored 20 and Michael Beasley added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat.
“I’m not sure I recognized what team was out there,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We were doing things that I hadn’t seen us do this season.”
Boston never trailed, running out to a 29-10 lead after one quarter and maintaining a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
