Usually when Jeff Van Gundy speaks, I get pretty annoyed. However, last night at the beginning of the game, he said that game had the ability to be just as special as the previous night's Thunder/Spurs game. I couldn't help but agree with him there, as much as it pained me to do so. With everything these two teams had put on the floor in the previous four games, this game had the makings of being exciting right from the opening tip. After Dwyane Wade calmly nailed a three to put the Heat up 7-0, I started to wonder if this game was going to be close, or if maybe the Heat were going to steamroll through these next two games and right back into the Finals. Brandon Bass and Ray Allen started things off for Boston and they quickly closed the deficit to within two. Chris Bosh checked in mid-way through the first quarter for the first time in three weeks, just in time to see the Heat push the lead back to seven. It wasn't a pretty game, as the two teams combined for 8 early turnovers within the first 6 minutes. Bosh was able to provide a spark for the Heat and helped them out to a 24-16 lead at the end of a very physical first quarter. Rajon Rondo spent some time on the bench getting his arm looked at and the Celtics clearly needed their general out there to help carry them if they were going to be a force in this game. The Heat continued to carry this momentum into the second quarter, pushing the lead to as many as 13 before Rondo led the Celtics back on the attack. The lead was ten when LeBron James took a seat on the bench with 9 minutes remaining in the first half. The lead was cut to six by the time he returned three minutes later and the Heat looked like a lottery team without him on the floor. For all of the criticism James has received (some deservedly so), his teams are horrible without him on the floor. They looked like the Bobcats while James was on the bench, putting up bad shot after bad shot. Not only that, but now you have the Celtics starting to build the momentum they needed heading into halftime. I realize I am suggesting LeBron play the entire 48 minutes of each game and it is pretty clear to me that's what is needed in order for the Heat to succeed. Whereas the Heat have been a one and a half man show during these playoffs, the Celtics and Doc Rivers have been a blueprint for great team basketball throughout the playoffs. While Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have made the Big Four look not so big at times, they have been able to turn to other players like Brandon Bass and Mickael Pietrus to help carry them when their stars aren't producing. The Heat's double digit lead had completely disappeared by halftime, as they found themselves only leading by two at that point. This game was now clearly Boston's for the taking. LeBron James had 18 and 9 at the half, but in my opinion he settled for a couple outside shots when he should have driven to the hoop and drawn the fouls. He missed four three pointers all told in this game and those were huge when you think of the final outcome of this game. Again, I am not going to pin the blame on one person here, Lebron did go 2 for 6 from three point range (his second three was pretty clutch, in the fourth quater), but the rest of his team was 5 for 20 from three. Maybe next game they won't settle for those shots as much, especially with Chris Bosh being back in the fold. You could feel the tide shifting towards Boston in the second half, as they were able to exploit Miami's defense through a slew of Rondo to Garnett pass plays that were played to perfection. Garnett was able to score 18 of his 26 points in the second half, due in large part to him and Rondo feeding off of each other so well. There were a lot of subtle things I noticed in Garnett within this game that reminded me he is still the hungriest player on the court. Seeing him blow up at himself for missing a free throw in the third quarter and then late in the game watching him yank Mickael Pietrus back into the huddle (twice within ten seconds!). Of course, there was also
THE DUNK. I have heard quite a few whispers of this being Garnett's last season. If it is, he is planning on going out in style. Neither of these two teams were really at their best last night and for the first few minutes of the third quarter, it was clear this was still anyone's game. Whenever Boston would tie it or pull within two, Miami would hit a basket or two and keep their slim lead. Miami went on a 9-0 run lead around the 6:00 point of the third to take a 59-50 lead. Again, Boston started to chip away at Miami's lead. When Miami should have been padding their lead at the free throw line, they were taking outside shots and rarely going inside for the easy bucket. All told, Boston ended on a 15-1 run to end the third and found themselves with a five point lead entering the third quarter.
While you could get a sense of nervousness from the Heat fans just by watching the game on TV, you got a general sense of desperation from the Heat themselves throughout the fourth quarter. Dwyane Wade picked up LeBron's slack and kept the Heat in the game in the fourth quarter, making for an exciting finish to an otherwise sloppy (and somewhat ugly) game. The Heat again went on a run and found themselves with a six point lead. It looked like they just had to play some defense and close this game out. Pietrus hit a three to cut the lead to three and at this point, it was clear this game was going to come down to the last couple minutes. There was just five minutes standing between one of these two teams being within one win from reaching the NBA Finals. Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett were everywhere that the Celtics needed them to be, coming up with key loose balls and blocks in the final minutes. Garnett hit an extremely clutch shot from the baseline that put the Celtics up by one with just three minutes remaining. This was right after he blocked a shot from LeBron, too. Like I been saying, Garnett is showing the world that he is hungry for one more championship. At this point in the game, all of the players magically started finding their three point touch, as Mario Chalmers and Mickael Pietrus hit back to back threes for Miami and then Boston. With just over a minute to go, Udonis Haslem went to the free throw line with the Heat down by two. He made one of two, to cut the lead to one with a minute to go. Paul Pierce pulled up and hit a dagger three with LeBron James right in his face. The Heat were rapidly running out of options, as they were left to more or less play the foul game down the stretch. Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett calmly sank the necessary free throws, and Boston was able to prevail in this game. Today, much of what I have read is people criticizing LeBron for yet again not coming up in the fourth quarter. While I do agree with everyone that he didn't provide everything he should have in the second half, this has to be tiring. For much of this season (and playoffs), he has had Miami on his shoulders and I can only imagine how exhausting that must be. Granted, I am sure he especially knows that anything less than a championship at this stage of his career will be a failure. I would have to argue that this year, however. As I have been saying, Kevin Garnett is playing with a fire and an energy that has only been rivaled in these Eastern Conference playoffs by James and Rondo. Just watching him play, you can tell he wants this more than anyone on the court. LeBron will have plenty more years to go out and prove all of his critics wrong. Kevin Garnett will not have many more opportunities and it has been fun watching him put everything out there in these playoffs. A lot of players disappear with age and some try to hang on to what they once had. Kevin Garnett is somehow doing neither of these and playing at an extremely high level in his mid-30s. It will be interesting to see if Miami can recover any of the momentum when they head into a rowdy Boston environment tomorrow evening. We all know Kevin Garnett will be ready to play.
Usually when Jeff Van Gundy speaks, I get pretty annoyed. However, last night at the beginning of the game, he said that game had the ability to be just as special as the previous night's Thunder/Spurs game. I couldn't help but agree with him there, as much as it pained me to do so. With everything these two teams had put on the floor in the previous four games, this game had the makings of being exciting right from the opening tip. After Dwyane Wade calmly nailed a three to put the Heat up 7-0, I started to wonder if this game was going to be close, or if maybe the Heat were going to steamroll through these next two games and right back into the Finals. Brandon Bass and Ray Allen started things off for Boston and they quickly closed the deficit to within two. Chris Bosh checked in mid-way through the first quarter for the first time in three weeks, just in time to see the Heat push the lead back to seven. It wasn't a pretty game, as the two teams combined for 8 early turnovers within the first 6 minutes. Bosh was able to provide a spark for the Heat and helped them out to a 24-16 lead at the end of a very physical first quarter. Rajon Rondo spent some time on the bench getting his arm looked at and the Celtics clearly needed their general out there to help carry them if they were going to be a force in this game. The Heat continued to carry this momentum into the second quarter, pushing the lead to as many as 13 before Rondo led the Celtics back on the attack. The lead was ten when LeBron James took a seat on the bench with 9 minutes remaining in the first half. The lead was cut to six by the time he returned three minutes later and the Heat looked like a lottery team without him on the floor. For all of the criticism James has received (some deservedly so), his teams are horrible without him on the floor. They looked like the Bobcats while James was on the bench, putting up bad shot after bad shot. Not only that, but now you have the Celtics starting to build the momentum they needed heading into halftime. I realize I am suggesting LeBron play the entire 48 minutes of each game and it is pretty clear to me that's what is needed in order for the Heat to succeed. Whereas the Heat have been a one and a half man show during these playoffs, the Celtics and Doc Rivers have been a blueprint for great team basketball throughout the playoffs. While Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have made the Big Four look not so big at times, they have been able to turn to other players like Brandon Bass and Mickael Pietrus to help carry them when their stars aren't producing. The Heat's double digit lead had completely disappeared by halftime, as they found themselves only leading by two at that point. This game was now clearly Boston's for the taking. LeBron James had 18 and 9 at the half, but in my opinion he settled for a couple outside shots when he should have driven to the hoop and drawn the fouls. He missed four three pointers all told in this game and those were huge when you think of the final outcome of this game. Again, I am not going to pin the blame on one person here, Lebron did go 2 for 6 from three point range (his second three was pretty clutch, in the fourth quater), but the rest of his team was 5 for 20 from three. Maybe next game they won't settle for those shots as much, especially with Chris Bosh being back in the fold. You could feel the tide shifting towards Boston in the second half, as they were able to exploit Miami's defense through a slew of Rondo to Garnett pass plays that were played to perfection. Garnett was able to score 18 of his 26 points in the second half, due in large part to him and Rondo feeding off of each other so well. There were a lot of subtle things I noticed in Garnett within this game that reminded me he is still the hungriest player on the court. Seeing him blow up at himself for missing a free throw in the third quarter and then late in the game watching him yank Mickael Pietrus back into the huddle (twice within ten seconds!). Of course, there was also THE DUNK. I have heard quite a few whispers of this being Garnett's last season. If it is, he is planning on going out in style. Neither of these two teams were really at their best last night and for the first few minutes of the third quarter, it was clear this was still anyone's game. Whenever Boston would tie it or pull within two, Miami would hit a basket or two and keep their slim lead. Miami went on a 9-0 run lead around the 6:00 point of the third to take a 59-50 lead. Again, Boston started to chip away at Miami's lead. When Miami should have been padding their lead at the free throw line, they were taking outside shots and rarely going inside for the easy bucket. All told, Boston ended on a 15-1 run to end the third and found themselves with a five point lead entering the third quarter. 
While you could get a sense of nervousness from the Heat fans just by watching the game on TV, you got a general sense of desperation from the Heat themselves throughout the fourth quarter. Dwyane Wade picked up LeBron's slack and kept the Heat in the game in the fourth quarter, making for an exciting finish to an otherwise sloppy (and somewhat ugly) game. The Heat again went on a run and found themselves with a six point lead. It looked like they just had to play some defense and close this game out. Pietrus hit a three to cut the lead to three and at this point, it was clear this game was going to come down to the last couple minutes. There was just five minutes standing between one of these two teams being within one win from reaching the NBA Finals. Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett were everywhere that the Celtics needed them to be, coming up with key loose balls and blocks in the final minutes. Garnett hit an extremely clutch shot from the baseline that put the Celtics up by one with just three minutes remaining. This was right after he blocked a shot from LeBron, too. Like I been saying, Garnett is showing the world that he is hungry for one more championship. At this point in the game, all of the players magically started finding their three point touch, as Mario Chalmers and Mickael Pietrus hit back to back threes for Miami and then Boston. With just over a minute to go, Udonis Haslem went to the free throw line with the Heat down by two. He made one of two, to cut the lead to one with a minute to go. Paul Pierce pulled up and hit a dagger three with LeBron James right in his face. The Heat were rapidly running out of options, as they were left to more or less play the foul game down the stretch. Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett calmly sank the necessary free throws, and Boston was able to prevail in this game. Today, much of what I have read is people criticizing LeBron for yet again not coming up in the fourth quarter. While I do agree with everyone that he didn't provide everything he should have in the second half, this has to be tiring. For much of this season (and playoffs), he has had Miami on his shoulders and I can only imagine how exhausting that must be. Granted, I am sure he especially knows that anything less than a championship at this stage of his career will be a failure. I would have to argue that this year, however. As I have been saying, Kevin Garnett is playing with a fire and an energy that has only been rivaled in these Eastern Conference playoffs by James and Rondo. Just watching him play, you can tell he wants this more than anyone on the court. LeBron will have plenty more years to go out and prove all of his critics wrong. Kevin Garnett will not have many more opportunities and it has been fun watching him put everything out there in these playoffs. A lot of players disappear with age and some try to hang on to what they once had. Kevin Garnett is somehow doing neither of these and playing at an extremely high level in his mid-30s. It will be interesting to see if Miami can recover any of the momentum when they head into a rowdy Boston environment tomorrow evening. We all know Kevin Garnett will be ready to play. 
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