Rallying Heat go up 2-0 vs. Celts
MIAMI — The proud and gutsy Boston Celtics played just about as well as possible.
They shot 49% and led by 15 points in the first half against the Miami Heat. They withstood a furious third-quarter barrage from the Heat.
Boston point guard Rajon Rondo played all 53 minutes and had a career-high 44 points with 10 assists and eight rebounds, including two threepointers late in overtime. Ray Allen was gutsy, playing on a bum right ankle. Center Kevin Garnett and forward Paul Pierce teamed for 39 points. And it wasn’t enough. Even with Miami guard Dwyane Wade’s quiet game — for him anyway, with 23 points — it wasn’t enough for the Celtics to steal a game on the road against the Heat.
Miami beat Boston 115-111 in overtime in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 3 is Friday (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
“This group has resolve,” Wade said of the Heat’s franchise-record comeback. But so does Rondo. “He was absolutely phenomenal. He put the whole team, at times, on his shoulders,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said of Rondo. “It’s tough to have him play that way and not win the game, because he did basically everything right.”
Fourteen teams have come back from a 2-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven NBA series.
LeBron James missed a jump shot at the end of regulation but otherwise had another big game for Miami, getting 34 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists while playing outstanding defense. He had 18 points on 24 free throws, an NBA high this postseason.
But it was Wade who rose in overtime, scoring eight points. Boston was without Pierce, who had fouled out with under 50 seconds left in regulation.
That the Heat were in position to win was unfathomable until the third quarter. They hammered Boston in erasing a 57-46 deficit. They were impressive in terrorizing the Celtics with defense, fast breaks and points in the paint.