Boston Celtics guard Keyon Dooling will need to bring his energy to the American Airlines Arena in Miami.
The Boston Celtics did not want to go back to Miami facing a 3-1 deficit like in the 2011 Eastern Conference semifinals. Instead, the Celtics escaped with a 93-91 overtime victory over the Heat to knot the Eastern Conference finals at 2 games apiece.
In Game 4, the Celtics raced out to a 21-6 lead in the first few minutes. After Kevin Garnett took his seat on the bench with the Celtics trying to limit his minutes to keep him fresh at the end of games, the Heat chipped away at the lead. Keyon Dooling was able to come off the bench and nail a couple of treys to keep the Celtics’ advantage in double digits. Rajon Rondo was delivering passes that not many people have witnessed before, including a bounce pass to Paul Pierce. Rondo finished the half with 10 assists along with 8 points and the Celtics had a comfortable 61-47 halftime lead.
The Celtics did not close out the half. Rondo got called for an offensive foul on a drive late in the half when Shane Battier stepped in front of Rondo. While the two players were on the floor, Rondo got called for a technical foul when he kicked Battier. The Heat were down 61-43 at the time.
When the teams came out of the locker room, it appeared the Celtics left their play from the first half behind. The Heat came out and prevented the Celtics’ offense from repeating their first half performance. The Heat went on a 15-1 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to take a one possession advantage (76-74). The teams traded punches. At the end of the game, LeBron James drilled a wide-open 3-pointer to tie the game at 89. After an offensive foul on Garnett, the Heat had an opportunity to win the contest in regulation, but James was unable to get off a shot and he was forced to send a pass to Udonis Haslem. Haslem was unable to get off a good shot and the game went to overtime.
In a crazy overtime period where Pierce was disqualified for committing his sixth foul in the first minute of the extra session. The Celtics were able to overcome the Heat after James fouled out with 1:51 left in the game. Rondo had three of four points scored by the Celtics. The Heat got the ball with 21.4 seconds left. Marquis Daniels used the foul the Celtics had with 14 seconds left. After a Heat timeout, Dwyane Wade missed a good look from beyond the arc that would’ve won the game.
Pierce finished with 23 points. Rondo had 15 points and 15 dimes. Garnett scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Ray Allen added 16 points on 4-for-11 shooting from international waters. Mickael Pietrus had two big offensive rebounds in overtime to keep the Celtics on the offensive end for over a minute while they were protecting a 92-91 advantage. Daniels kept Wade off the scoreboard in overtime and Dooling contributed with 10 points off the bench. James had his first game in the series where he failed to score 30+ points (he finished with 29) and Wade was 7-of-22 from the field.
In Game 5, the Celtics will need to put together 48 strong minutes because the Heat may have Chris Bosh in the lineup. Bosh is listed as a gametime decision with his abdominal strain. Bosh could help the Heat by taking Garnett out of the paint as an extra defender on Wade. Bosh is an effective shooter from outside and he could force Garnett to play one-on-one. Meanwhile, the Celtics will also need to limit the Heat’s role players like Mario Chalmers, Haslem, and Battier who have hurt the Celtics with their shooting and on the glass. The Celtics cannot take as many jump shots as they released in Game 4 because if they miss, this could get the Heat out in the open floor. This time the Heat will have their home crowd making all of the noise.
The Celtics are 8-0 in Game 5 when a series is tied since Garnett and Allen have joined the team.