NBA CONFERENCE FINALS

Heat survive Rondo, Celtics

Boston Celtics' Kevin Garnett is tangled up by Miami Heat's James Jones, rear, during the second half of Game 2 in their NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoffs series, Wednesday, May 30, 2012, in Miami.
Boston Celtics' Kevin Garnett is tangled up by Miami Heat's James Jones, rear, during the second half of Game 2 in their NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoffs series, Wednesday, May 30, 2012, in Miami.

— The biggest postseason comeback in Miami Heat franchise history wasn’t enough.

The Heat needed more - and got it, digging deep to take a 2-0 lead in the NBA Eastern Conference final.

LeBron James scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Dwyane Wade scored 23 and the Heat rallied from 15 points down to beat the Boston Celtics 115-111 in overtime Wednesday night.

Mario Chalmers scored 22 for the Heat, who won despitethe efforts of Rajon Rondo. The Celtics guard played all 53 minutes and scored 44 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed 8 rebounds. The Heat expected Boston’s best - and the Celtics didn’t disappoint.

“This group had resolve,” Wade said of the Celtics. “They came out and playeda great game. It was physical early. They brought the game to us. That can’t happen. We used our crowd and the energy to get back into the game, and we had to play better.”

Paul Pierce scored 21 points, Kevin Garnett added 18 and Ray Allen 13 for Boston.

Rondo finished 16 of 24 from the floor, hit 10 of 12 free throws and made both his three-point shots.

“He was absolutely phenomenal,” Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said. “Put us, put the whole team at times on his shoulders. ... We had a lot of opportunities to win the game.”

Allen’s three-pointer with 34.3 seconds left tied the game at 99-99. James missed two shots, first a layup - he got the rebound of his own miss - and then a jumper on the final possession of regulation, sending the game intoovertime.

Game 3 is Friday in Boston.

The Heat had come back from 14 points down in playoff games twice before, first in Game 6 of the 2006 NBA Finals - their title clincher - and again last season against Philadelphia.

This one was slipping away, more than once. James missed two free throws 21 seconds into overtime, and Miami looked in trouble. But the Heat held on, in a game where they took 47 free throws - 24 by James - to Boston’s 29.

The scoring dossier in overtime began like this: Rondo scored, Heat tied it, Rondo scored, Heat tied it, Rondo scored, Heat tied it.

When Rondo missed a layup with 1:33 left, Miami took advantage, with Udonis Haslem getting a dunk to put the Heat up 105-103. After a turnover on the next Boston possession, Wade drove the lane, hit the deck and watched as his layup bounced on the rim and dropped through.

Garnett stood over Wade and glared, to no avail. Wade hit the free throw, and Miami was up 110-105 with 59.7 seconds left.

On a night when the Heat missed 16 free throws - including at least four by Jamesin crucial situations - they would survive.

Miami was down by 15 in the first half and by 11 in the third quarter, before two three-pointers by James started a comeback. Wade made consecutive jumpers midway through the third to shake off a slow start and get the Heat within three both times, and the 2006 NBA Finals MVP set up Haslem for a three-point play with 2:55 left that gave Miami its first lead since the opening minutes, 73-71.

Sports, Pages 19 on 05/31/2012

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