BOSTON -- LeBron James had a good courtside seat for the Heat’s first back-to-back loss this postseason.
A helpless bystander after fouling out in overtime, James could do nothing but watch as the Celtics tied these Eastern Conference finals at 2-2 with a 93-91 victory on Sunday night at TD Garden. James led the Heat with 29 points and helped lead an inspired comeback in the second half but wasn’t on the floor for the most important minutes of this series. He fouled out with 1:51 remaining in overtime after slamming into Marquis Daniels.
The Heat trailed 92-91 after James left the game. After Rajon Rondo made 1 of 2 free throws, Dwyane Wade had a chance to tie or win the game but his three-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.
Wade finished with 20 points on 7 of 22 shooting. Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 23 points before fouling out in overtime. Rondo had 15 points and 15 assists.
James drilled a three-pointer with 37.5 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 89-89. On the Celtics’ next possession, he forced a turnover when he absorbed a charge by Kevin Garnett. With 21.1 seconds left and the game tied, the Heat had time to draw up a potential game-winning play but it went off script when James passed to Udonis Haslem at the buzzer, who missed a jump shot.
Kevin Garnett put the Celtics ahead by three points with 2:43 left. An offensive rebound by Udonis Haslem kept possession alive for Mario Chalmers, who missed a three-point attempt but then delivered with a driving layup to cut Boston’s lead to 87-86 with 1:01 to play.
Foul trouble
James picked up his fifth foul with 5:32 left in the game and was actually replaced in the lineup for a few seconds by Norris Cole with 4:36 remaining.
A 13-1 run spanning the third and four quarters sliced the Celtics to nothing. With 8:45 remaining in the game, the Heat tied the game for the first time since the opening tip. The Celtics called a timeout but its offense continued to sputter. Meanwhile, the Heat got a boost from an unlikely source, Norris Cole.
With Mario Chalmers in foul trouble, Cole entered the game with less than five minutes to play in the third quarter. He gave the Heat its first lead of the game with 8:23 left and then put the Heat ahead 78-76 with 7:41 left in the game.
But the Celtics weren’t done. Ray Allen swished a three off a deflection to put the Celtics ahead 79-78 with 7:30 left and Kevin Garnett tipped in a miss by Brandon Bass to put Boston ahead by four points.
Rally falls short
The Heat stormed back from a 14-point halftime deficit in the third quarter. Led by nine points from Wade, the Heat cut Boston’s lead to 73-68 to begin the fourth quarter.
Wade struggled significantly in the first half but found his groove in the second half. His three-pointer to close out the third quarter gave the Heat momentum entering the final period and Wade screamed at Kevin Garnett, “I’m coming for you,” as he walked off the court.
Wade started the game 1 of 8 from the field before hitting an out-of-character three-pointer with 1:46 left in the first half.
It cut the Celtics’ lead to 58-43 but Allen answered immediately with his third three-pointer of the half.
The Celtics made 7 of 16 attempts from three-point range in the first half.
It’s been a difficult two-game stretch for Wade, who has never exactly played up to his potential in Boston.
A helpless bystander after fouling out in overtime, James could do nothing but watch as the Celtics tied these Eastern Conference finals at 2-2 with a 93-91 victory on Sunday night at TD Garden. James led the Heat with 29 points and helped lead an inspired comeback in the second half but wasn’t on the floor for the most important minutes of this series. He fouled out with 1:51 remaining in overtime after slamming into Marquis Daniels.
The Heat trailed 92-91 after James left the game. After Rajon Rondo made 1 of 2 free throws, Dwyane Wade had a chance to tie or win the game but his three-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.
Wade finished with 20 points on 7 of 22 shooting. Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 23 points before fouling out in overtime. Rondo had 15 points and 15 assists.
James drilled a three-pointer with 37.5 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 89-89. On the Celtics’ next possession, he forced a turnover when he absorbed a charge by Kevin Garnett. With 21.1 seconds left and the game tied, the Heat had time to draw up a potential game-winning play but it went off script when James passed to Udonis Haslem at the buzzer, who missed a jump shot.
Kevin Garnett put the Celtics ahead by three points with 2:43 left. An offensive rebound by Udonis Haslem kept possession alive for Mario Chalmers, who missed a three-point attempt but then delivered with a driving layup to cut Boston’s lead to 87-86 with 1:01 to play.
Foul trouble
James picked up his fifth foul with 5:32 left in the game and was actually replaced in the lineup for a few seconds by Norris Cole with 4:36 remaining.
A 13-1 run spanning the third and four quarters sliced the Celtics to nothing. With 8:45 remaining in the game, the Heat tied the game for the first time since the opening tip. The Celtics called a timeout but its offense continued to sputter. Meanwhile, the Heat got a boost from an unlikely source, Norris Cole.
With Mario Chalmers in foul trouble, Cole entered the game with less than five minutes to play in the third quarter. He gave the Heat its first lead of the game with 8:23 left and then put the Heat ahead 78-76 with 7:41 left in the game.
But the Celtics weren’t done. Ray Allen swished a three off a deflection to put the Celtics ahead 79-78 with 7:30 left and Kevin Garnett tipped in a miss by Brandon Bass to put Boston ahead by four points.
Rally falls short
The Heat stormed back from a 14-point halftime deficit in the third quarter. Led by nine points from Wade, the Heat cut Boston’s lead to 73-68 to begin the fourth quarter.
Wade struggled significantly in the first half but found his groove in the second half. His three-pointer to close out the third quarter gave the Heat momentum entering the final period and Wade screamed at Kevin Garnett, “I’m coming for you,” as he walked off the court.
Wade started the game 1 of 8 from the field before hitting an out-of-character three-pointer with 1:46 left in the first half.
It cut the Celtics’ lead to 58-43 but Allen answered immediately with his third three-pointer of the half.
The Celtics made 7 of 16 attempts from three-point range in the first half.
It’s been a difficult two-game stretch for Wade, who has never exactly played up to his potential in Boston.