BOSTON » Well, Miami wasn’t built in a day.

The Heat, the most notorious team in NBA history — before ever taking the floor — debuted its Big Three last night, showing that reports of its greatness are exaggerated or, at least, premature.

Smacked across the face by the bigger, deeper and way-tired-of-hearing-about-them Boston Celtics, the Heat did get back in it, cutting a 19-point deficit to three at the end, with LeBron James scoring 21 of his 31 points in the second half.

The Celtics then secured their 88-80 win and there went Miami’s perfect season.

"It’s one of 82," said Dwyane Wade, who went down the chute with Chris Bosh, with whom he combined for 21 points, missing 20 of 27 shots.

"I’m not sure anyone thought we’d go 82-0. It’s not going to happen."

Credible basketball people like Jeff Van Gundy said the Heat might break the Bulls’ 72-10 record.

Credible or not, ESPN plans daily updates of the Heat’s chance to win 73, which remains within reach, mathematically.

Unfortunately for the Heat, it had a ragged preseason with Wade missing almost all of it and Mike Miller breaking a wrist at the end, putting him out until the All-Star break.

Nor was it good fortune to open here with proud Celtics, Up to Here with Heat hype.

"Who cares?" said Kevin Garnett, asked once too often about Miami’s retooling. "We did some retooling ourselves."

The Celtics now have a bigger presence in the middle with Shaquille O’Neal and Jermaine O’Neal filling in for the injured Kendrick Perkins.

Wade was limited to 13 points on 4-for-16 shooting and Bosh added eight points and eight rebounds. They combined for 15 of the Heat’s 17 turnovers — eight by James, six by Wade and one by Bosh.

Ray Allen led Boston with 20 points, Paul Pierce scored 19 and Kevin Garnett had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Lakers 112, Rockets 110

The Los Angeles Lakers’ emotions ran high when the lights went down at Staples Center. They walked to center court one at a time, accepting a gaudy ring before saying something heartfelt about the next teammate in line.

And the two-time NBA champions needed every bit of that family togetherness to survive the first test in a season that’s sure to be full of them.

Kobe Bryant scored 27 points, newcomer Steve Blake hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 18.8 seconds left, and Los Angeles rallied late for a 112-110 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Pau Gasol had 29 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who hung the golden banner celebrating their 16th NBA championship and handed out their impossibly ostentatious rings in a surprisingly touching pregame ceremony.

The champs then fell behind by 15 points before rallying for a fourth-quarter lead behind a 3-point barrage by Shannon Brown, who scored 14 of his 16 points in a 6 1/2 -minute span.

"Getting those rings, you’re definitely on a high," said Brown, who turned down significant free-agent offers for a shot at a threepeat. "You have to come back down, because that’s history. That’s something nobody can take away from you ever, but it doesn’t help us in the next game."

Trail Blazers 106, Suns 92

Nicolas Batum scored 19 points, making three 3-pointers down the stretch, and had 11 rebounds to lead host Portland to a 106-92 season-opening victory over Phoenix.

Brandon Roy scored 24 points for the Blazers, who fell to the Suns in the first round of the playoffs last season.

Steve Nash had 26 points for the Suns.

NBA

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Yesterday

Boston 88, Miami 80

Portland 106, Phoenix 92

L.A. Lakers 112, Houston 110

Today

Boston at Cleveland, 1 p.m.

Detroit at New Jersey, 1 p.m.

Miami at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.

New York at Toronto, 1 p.m.

Atlanta at Memphis, 2 p.m.

Sacramento at Minnesota, 2 p.m.

Milwaukee at New Orleans, 2 p.m.

Chicago at Oklahoma City, 2 p.m.

Charlotte at Dallas, 2:30 p.m.

Indiana at San Antonio, 2:30 p.m.

Utah at Denver, 3 p.m.

Houston at Golden State, 4:30 p.m.

Portland at L.A. Clippers, 4:30 p.m.

Tomorrow

Washington at Orlando, 2 p.m.

Phoenix at Utah, 4:30 p.m.

Trail Blazers 106, Suns 92

PHOENIX

Hill 2-4 0-1 4, Turkoglu 2-7 0-0 6, Lopez 2-4 1-2 5, Nash 10-19 4-5 26, Richardson 9-13 1-2 22, Frye 1-4 0-0 3, Warrick 3-6 4-5 10, Dudley 3-8 0-0 6, Childress 2-4 0-0 4, Dragic 2-5 1-1 6. Totals 36-74 11-16 92.

PORTLAND

Batum 8-17 0-0 19, Aldridge 3-9 2-4 8, Camby 6-11 1-1 13, Miller 4-8 2-2 10, Roy 9-20 2-2 24, Matthews 5-12 2-3 13, Fernandez 2-5 1-3 7, Cunningham 3-5 0-0 6, Oberto 0-1 0-0 0, Johnson 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 43-93 10-15 106.

3-Point Goals–Phoenix 9-19 (Richardson 3-4, Nash 2-4, Turkoglu 2-4, Frye 1-1, Dragic 1-2, Hill 0-1, Dudley 0-3), Portland 10-20 (Roy 4-6, Batum 3-8, Fernandez 2-4, Matthews 1-2). Fouled Out–None. Rebounds–Phoenix 38 (Richardson, Frye 6), Portland 60 (Batum 11). Assists–Phoenix 15 (Nash 6), Portland 31 (Miller 9). Total Fouls–Phoenix 16, Portland 21. Technicals–Phoenix Coach Gentry, Phoenix defensive three second 2, Portland defensive three second. A–20,603 (19,980).

Celtics 88, Heat 80

MIAMI

James 10-21 8-12 31, Bosh 3-11 2-2 8, Anthony 1-1 0-0 2, Arroyo 1-3 1-1 3, Wade 4-16 4-6 13, Jones 2-7 0-0 6, Haslem 3-7 2-2 8, House 3-8 0-0 8, Ilgauskas 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 27-74 18-25 80.

BOSTON

Pierce 4-7 8-8 19, Garnett 4-11 2-4 10, S.O’Neal 3-7 3-8 9, Rondo 2-9 0-0 4, Allen 7-13 1-1 20, Davis 6-7 1-2 13, J.O’Neal 0-3 1-2 1, Daniels 4-5 0-0 8, Robinson 2-7 0-0 4. Totals 32-69 16-25 88.

3-Point Goals–Miami 8-20 (James 3-6, House 2-4, Jones 2-7, Wade 1-3), Boston 8-16 (Allen 5-8, Pierce 3-4, Daniels 0-1, Robinson 0-3). Fouled Out–None. Rebounds–Miami 48 (Haslem 11), Boston 52 (Garnett 10). Assists–Miami 15 (Wade 6), Boston 25 (Rondo 17). Total Fouls–Miami 21, Boston 19. Technicals–Miami Bench, Miami defensive three second, Boston defensive three second 3. A–18,624 (18,624).

Lakers 112, Rockets 110

HOUSTON

Battier 1-5 0-0 3, Scola 7-18 4-4 18, Yao 4-11 1-2 9, Brooks 7-16 6-6 24, Martin 8-17 7-7 26, Miller 1-4 7-8 9, Hayes 0-0 0-0 0, Budinger 6-10 1-1 13, Lee 4-9 0-0 8, Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 38-91 26-28 110.

L.A. LAKERS

Artest 3-15 0-0 8, Odom 7-10 0-1 14, Gasol 11-23 7-9 29, Fisher 1-7 0-0 2, Bryant 8-20 11-12 27, Caracter 0-1 0-0 0, Ratliff 0-2 0-0 0, Blake 3-5 1-2 10, Brown 6-9 0-0 16, Barnes 1-4 4-4 6. Totals 40-96 23-28 112.

3-Point Goals–Houston 8-20 (Brooks 4-6, Martin 3-6, Battier 1-3, Miller 0-1, Budinger 0-2, Lee 0-2), L.A. Lakers 9-21 (Brown 4-5, Blake 3-4, Artest 2-6, Fisher 0-1, Barnes 0-1, Odom 0-1, Bryant 0-3). Fouled Out–Yao. Rebounds–Houston 64 (Scola 16), L.A. Lakers 52 (Gasol 11). Assists–Houston 25 (Brooks 9), L.A. Lakers 21 (Bryant 7). Total Fouls–Houston 25, L.A. Lakers 24. Technicals–Martin, Houston defensive three second, Fisher, L.A. Lakers defensive three second. A–18,997 (18,997).