Three things we learned Wednesday night in Game 2:
Heat in OT
It was a valiant effort by the Celtics, but in the end the Heat were too hot to handle, beating the Celtics in OT, 115-111.
Dwyane Wade had a clutch and-1 over Kevin Garnett late in the overtime to give Miami a small cushion. Despite Rajon Rondo continuing to be hot from outside, Miami held off Boston.
You might think that after such a tough loss the Celtics won’t have anything left in the tank. That could be the case, but the C’s have proved pretty much everybody wrong since the All-Star break, and will try to do so again at home in Boston. Down 0-2 in a series to a Heat team with a ton of momentum, it will be the Celtics’ biggest challenge in the Big Three era.
Setting the tone
It’s amazing what a hot start can do. Following up their dismal 11-point first quarter in Game 1, the Celtics came out looking like a different team in Game 2, scoring 24 points and holding an eight-point lead. As it turned out, it was a sign of things to come for a Boston team that ended up with over 100 points in the game. The 70-90 point games may have earned them wins against Atlanta and Philadelphia, but it won’t get them anywhere against the Heat.
Rondo, Rondo, Rondo
It was one of those games for Rondo where you say, “Why can’t he do this all the time?” Well, it’s simple really: Nobody can give you 44 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds in 54 minutes on a nightly basis. Rondo put in his best postseason performance of his career, but it was how he scored the points that should matter more. Rondo hit jumpers from all over the court – not just those sneaky layups he’s good at. If Rondo can keep that shot into future seasons, he’ll make his mark as the best guard in the league.
