Celtic Pride
BOSTON — The Celtics’ big lead gone and leading scorer along with it, Rajon Rondo had a message for Kevin Garnett.
“It’s time,” Rondo said. “We have to take the game over.”
And when that still left the Miami Heat with a final chance, the Celtics turned to an old Garden ghost as Dwyane Wade launched a 3-pointer that would have won it.
“Red wasn’t going to let that go in, you know that,” coach Doc Rivers said, referring to longtime Celtics boss Red Auerbach. “Not in the Boston Garden.”
It didn’t, moving the Celtics two wins from an improbable chance to play for another championship.
Rondo had 15 points and 15 assists, and scored the final three points of the Celtics’ 93-91 overtime victory on Sunday night that evened the Eastern Conference finals at two games apiece.
Getting a huge break when LeBron James fouled out for the first time since joining the Heat, the Celtics recovered after blowing an 18-point lead in regulation and need two victories for a third trip to the NBA finals in five years.
Garnett added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Celtics, while Paul Pierce scored 23 points before fouling out. Ray Allen finished with 16 points.
James had 29 points and Wade scored 20 after another dismal start for the Heat, who host Game 5 on Tuesday.
“Not stressed the series is tied 2-2,” James said. “It’s great basketball, great competition. We wanted to get one up here and we didn’t.”
In a game that started as a Celtics blowout and turned into a foul- and tension-filled fourth quarter, followed by the second overtime in this series, the Celtics held on when Wade missed a potential winning 3-pointer on the last possession.
“It was a good look. It was online but didn’t want to go in,” Wade said. “Got the shot off I wanted and that is all you can ask for.”
Mickael Pietrus drew James’ sixth foul and grabbed two huge offensive rebounds that created a lengthy possession for the Celtics, who lost Game 4 in overtime in a second-round series against the Heat last year with a chance to tie the series.
This time, they overcame their second-half stall on the offensive end by limiting the Heat to just one basket in overtime, by Udonis Haslem, who finished with 12 points and 17 rebounds.
“At the end you have a chance to win after 50-plus minutes and losing the MVP. Hey, you’ll take that,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
