Heat Outlast Boston in Overtime

LeBron James just laughed off a hard foul from Kevin Garnett in the series opener.

After his layup attempt fell through the net, Dwyane Wade just offered Garnett an intense glare.

As only 59 seconds remained in overtime, Wade drove to the basket and in anticipation of contact from Garnett, flared out his legs.

A whistle blew and Wade flipped up an attempt that dangled off the back of the rim for a split second prior to transforming into two points.

Wade sank the ensuing foul shot and no three points were more critical as Miami held on for a 115-111 overtime victory in Game 2.

Miami prevailed as Wade scored eight of his 23 points in overtime, capping the third major comeback of the second half.

Boston controlled the majority of the game, mainly behind Rajon Rondo’s epic performance and timely shooting, as it connected on 49.4 percent of its attempts, matching the highest percentage the Heat has allowed this post season.

Rondo scored a career-high 44 points along with 10 assists, eight rebounds and three steals, establishing himself as the most important player for the Celtics.

Coach Doc Rivers kept Rondo on the court for all 53 minutes and he showed no sign of fatigue.

Instead of his usual point production coming off dribble drives and acrobatic layups, Rondo displayed a reliable outside jump shot as he converted on 16-of-24 attempts from the field and he sank both of his 3-point tries in overtime.

Boston led for a majority of the first three quarters, as Wade and James struggled shooting the ball until a defensive play in the third quarter changed the entire tone of the game.

The Heat trailed by as many as 15 but slowly chipped away at the deficit.

Leading by five points with just over four minutes left in the third quarter, Ray Allen intercepted a pass intended for Wade and darted towards the rim at the other end of the court.

Instead of attempting a finger roll with his left and and trying to shield away Wade with the rim, Allen extended his right arm and placed the ball towards the center of the rim.

The switch enabled Wade to make the necessary defensive adjustment and swat away the attempt.

During the regular season, Wade was the only guard in the league to average more than one rejection per game, turning away 63 attempts in 49 games.

Following his block, Mario Chalmers scored two of his 23 points as he converted a reverse layup and brought the Heat back to within three points and sparking an intense rally.

The rejection of Allen sparked a three minute scoring drought for the Celtics and 11 consecutive points for Miami, resulting in a 78-71 advantage.

A jumper from Garnett as the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter was just the beginning of a Boston run.

The Celtics used an 11-1 run to regain the lead as Garnett scored six points during the stretch. He finished with 18 points, eight rebounds.

Miami stormed back as Shane Battier knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 94.

Dwyane Wade joins Jerry West as the only playoff opponent to score 20 or more points in 12 straight games against Boston.

A jumper from Udonis Haslem provided the Heat with a four point lead and compensated for a combined 15-of-35 shooting performance from James and Wade.

Miami’s boosted the team with a 25-7 scoring advantage with Haslem serving as the key, posting 13 points, 11 rebounds, three assists two steals and a block.

Allen sank a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime, but outside of Rondo, Boston couldn’t find any productivity.

James finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists but his crunch time struggles continued.

Miami had one more opportunity to avoid overtime following Allen’s 3-pointer. Wade found James with a beautiful pass in the lane except he failed to convert his layup.

James grabbed his offensive rebound and was isolated with Rondo, but even with an eight inch height advantage, James chose to launch a fade away jumper from 21 feet out that drew back iron and sent the game into overtime.

Even with his struggles from the field, shooting 7-for-20, James managed to get his points by continually attacking the basket, scoring 18 points at the foul line.

While the game wasn’t the best effort from Miami, the game displayed its ability to overcome adversity.

Wade was held scoreless until he made a layup with 27 seconds remaining in the second quarter, but Miami still only trailed by seven at the half.

The Celtics shot 65 percent from the field to open up the game and Rondo submitted the finest performance of his career, but it still wasn’t enough to win Wednesday night.