Heat Vs. Celtics: Boston Wins, 78-66, As Stars Sit

Heat Vs. Celtics Final Score: Boston Bench And Paul Pierce Defeat Miami Bench, 78-66

With the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics' playoff position assured — the Heat will be the East's No. 2 seed, the Celtics the No. 4 but without home-court advantage over the No. 5 Atlanta Hawks — the stars of both teams, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett, took a seat to rest up for the playoffs. The only "star" in the lineup for either team was Paul Pierce, who played just 18 minutes, but helped lead the Celtics to a 78-66 victory.

Pierce scored eight points in his limited time on the floor. Brandon Bass and Avery Bradley — the younger starter for the C's — started as well. Bass had eight points and eight rebounds, but Sasha Pavlovic was the star (didn't expect to hear that, huh?), scoring 16 points on 7-10 shooting. Marquis Daniels, who has dropped completely from Doc Rivers' rotation, chipped in 13.

The Heat were without the Big Two Plus Bosh, and a lineup of Mario Chalmers, Mike Miller, Shane Battier, Udonis Haslem and Dexter Pittman, well, it's the kind that hangs 66 points on a Celtics team playing without KG and Rondo. Pittman actually led the team in scoring with 12 points, but had just four rebounds. Nice job by Erik Spoelstra resting his stars, sorry to fans who paid money to see this.

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Heat Vs. Celtics: Both Teams Looking To Rest Stars As Playoffs Approach

The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics are both likely going to rest their stars, meaning Tuesday night's national game on TNT might not be as exciting as it could have been.