Heat Rally From 15 Down To Top Celtics In OT
Back, Back, Forth & Forth….That was the theme for last night’s game as Rajon Rondo did everything he could to tie this series before heading back to Beantown. Miami had an answer every time Rondo scored all the way through Overtime. Starting off in the first quarter, Rajon Rondo started the game making two back to back 15+ ft. jump shots which would set the trend for the rest of the game. He finished the quarter with 4 assist with 10 points. The Heat were down 6 going into the 2nd quarter but the Celtics would soon jump to a 14-6 run led by Rajon Rondo scoring 3 jumpers again. By the 8 min. Boston would have their biggest lead of the game at 15 but Miami would soon snap the lead to 11 by the next minute. On the following ensuing possessions, The C’s would again jump to 15 but Miami answered yet again with a pair of 3’s by Mario Chalmers and LeBron James. With 27 seconds left before halftime, we would have our first Dwyane Wade sighting of the game as he scored his first 2 points of game bringing the heat to within 7. Heading into the 3rd Quarter, LeBron James made back to back 3 pointers to start the quarter and Wade had a 3 of his own but Miami was still down 7. With their defense finally intact by the 3 minute mark, the Heat took their first lead of the game. The game was quickly turned into a track meet as Miami went on a 35-22 run to lead by 6 before the 4th. Going into the 4th quarter, Boston started off going on a 17-6 run to take a 5 point lead with 4 minutes to go. Miami quickly went on a 9-0 run of their own led by LBJ to take a 4 point lead with a minute remaining. Down by 3 with 34 seconds remaining, Celtics guard Ray Allen hit the biggest Celtics bucket of the night to tie the game. Miami had a chance to win the game in regulation but LBJ missed a 21 ft. jumper. In OT the Heat would play the back and forth game with Rondo as they answered with a bucket every time he scored. With 1 Minute left Dwyane Wade would put the icing on the game splitting the defense from a high pick and roll set by LBJ to score an and-1 on Kevin Garnett.
MVP, LeBron James messed around and almost dropped a triple-double scoring 34 points, 10 boards and 7 dimes finishing as the player of game. Dwyane Wade finished the game with 23 points while Mario Chalmers had 22. Celtics guard Rajon Rondo finished the game with a career high of 44 points, with 10 dimes and 8 boards playing all 53 minutes of the game in this legendary performance. Before game 2, Celtics coach Doc Rivers had thoughts of resting guard Ray Allen who’s been battling with ankle issues throughout the playoffs, but decided to have Mr. Shuttlesworth play instead. He insisted Ray come in earlier than morning shootarounds were scheduled for extra shooting practice to loosen him up. Allen went 5-11 from field shooting 2-5 from long distance in 43 minutes of play. Despite Rondo’s instant classic playoff performance in a losing effort, the Heat showed resilience to take a 2-0 lead before leaving town for game 3. With the series now shifting back to Boston, I’m not sure how this loss will affect the Celtics as they put everything into game 2, literally. Rondo played the entire game, Ray Allen played on a bad ankle despite much needed rest he should’ve taken; and Paul Pierce fouled out before the end of regulation as he still played 43 minutes of the game. Boston shouldn’t be discouraged by the game as they’re heading back home as the Heat did what they were supposed to do and that was to protect the home court. Now Boston just has to do the same in winning the next 2 games and it won’t be easy. With game 3 shifting back to TD Garden in Boston Friday night, I would expect Boston to play game 3 as if it were their game 7 preventing Miami from taking a commanding 3-0 series lead.
Game 3 is scheduled Friday on ESPN with a tip-off set for 8:30 pm (ET).
Win Or Go Home.
(2) Miami Heat vs. (4) Boston Celtics | Heat Lead 2-0
Game 1: Miami 93, Boston 79
Game 2: Miami 115, Boston 111 (OT)
Game 3: at BOS, Fri. June 1, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
Game 4: at BOS, Sun. June 3, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
Game 5: at MIA, Tue. June 5, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, (If Necessary)
Game 6: at BOS, Thu. June 7, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, (If Necessary)
Game 7: at MIA, Sat. June 9, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, (If Necessary)
Bonus: Rondo’s Big Night