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Wade, Heat go 2-up on Celtics with OT decision

May 31, 2012 - 4:58 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Dwyane Wade hit the deck in overtime, but not before he withstood Kevin Garnett's hard foul and converted a critical three- point play that carried the Heat to a 115-111 victory over the Celtics.

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals was decided with an extra five minutes after LeBron James missed two shots in the closing seconds of regulation.

The Heat, who trailed by as many as 15 in the first half, recovered with nine straight points in OT to take control, three coming on the aforementioned hoop and free throw from Wade, who scored 21 of his 23 points after halftime.

James logged 34 points on 7-of-20 shooting to go with 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Mario Chalmers chipped in 22 points to help the Heat jump out to a 2-0 series lead.

"A lot of contributions from different guys, particularly from the bench," said Erik Spoelstra, head coach of the Heat, whose reserves outscored Boston's bench, 25-7. "Tonight was tough. ... We focused on grinding that overtime and had to do it the tough way."

The series shifts to Boston on Friday.

Rajon Rondo, quoted after Game 1 as saying the Heat "have to hit the deck," stepped up with a career-high 44 points on a scintillating 16-of-24 shooting performance. He also dished out 10 assists and grabbed eight rebounds while playing all 53 minutes.

"He was absolutely phenomenal. He put the whole team on his shoulders," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said of his point guard. "It's tough to have him play that way and not win the game. He basically did everything right."

Garnett totaled 18 points and eight rebounds, while Paul Pierce added 21 points for Celtics before fouling out late in regulation.

Pierce's sixth foul came on a hard drive to the basket by Wade with 47.7 seconds showing. Wade made just 1-of-2 at the foul line to keep it a one- possession game at 99-96.

Good ball movement by the Celtics resulted in a wide open three-point try for Ray Allen, who calmly buried it from the right side with 34.3 ticks on the clock.

James had two chances to put Miami in front, first missing a tough left-handed layup in traffic. He got his own rebound and wound up settling for a 22-foot jumper from the right wing that hit all iron as the buzzer sounded.

"I had a good look, it just didn't go down," recalled James.

The Celtics led 105-103 midway through OT before the Heat's game-sealing nine- point run. James started the rally with a tip-in, then fed Udonis Haslem for a dunk after Rondo missed a runner in the lane.

Following a Garnett turnover, Wade attacked the basket and absorbed Garnett's right forearm to his shoulder and stayed in the air long enough to get his shot to fall.

Garnett airballed a three-pointer from the left corner at the other end, and the Heat made enough free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

The Celtics, after scoring 11 first-quarter points in Game 1, jumped out to a 24-18 lead after 12 minutes Wednesday.

The margin grew to 15 when the visitors opened the second quarter on a 12-3 run, eight coming from Rondo in a variety of ways.

Chalmers stopped the flurry with a three-pointer, and his 12 points in the quarter helped the Heat stay within striking distance.

Wade's only basket of the first half came in the final minute off a backdoor pass from James, which cut Miami's deficit to 53-46 heading to the break.

Boston went ahead by as many as 11 in the third, but Miami chipped away and pulled ahead when Wade finally got into a rhythm and ignited a 12-0 run. The stretch was started by Wade blocking Allen on a fastbreak and ended with James swatting Pierce at the rim and turning it into a Wade three-point play at the other end for a 78-71 lead with 1:35 left in the third.

Garnett beat the buzzer with a 22-footer from the top of the key, getting Boston within 81-75 heading to the fourth.

After shooting 65 percent from the field in the third, Miami made just one field goal over a nearly nine-minute stretch in the final stanza. Boston reeled off a 17 of 22 points to go in front, 94-89 with 3:50 left in regulation.

Still, the Heat responded with nine straight points, the last coming off a Haslem baseline jumper for a four-point lead with 68 seconds remaining.

Coming out of a timeout, Rondo fed Garnett for an alley-oop dunk prior to Pierce fouling out.

Game Notes

Rondo scored all 12 of Boston's points in overtime...Allen, playing with an ankle injury, scored 13 points in 43 minutes...Haslem had his first double- double of the postseason, recording 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench...The Heat are 9-0 this postseason when scoring at least 90 points...Miami had held its opponents to under 100 points in each game this postseason coming in.