‘Demoralizing’: Celtics’ Best Not Enough, Heat Take Game 2 In OT

“You’re not gonna see an NBA player ever play much better than what you’ve seen tonight.” That was Jeff Van Gundy Wednesday night, somewhere near the end of Rajon Rondo’s obnoxiously brilliant 44-point, 10-assist, eight-rebound effort.

As the game went on, he just kept getting better and the whole thing got more unbelievable. Rondo played all 53 minutes of Game 2 and single-handedly carried the Celtics offense for stretches at a time. Like Van Gundy said, it’s hard to imagine a more impressive night.

Surya Fernandez of Peninsula Is Mightier acknowledges the big Heat comeback, but notes while the team is close to the NBA finals, because they’re playing the Celtics they’re still far away.

For more on these teams, visit Heat blog Peninsula is Mightier and CelticsBlog. To stay up to date on all of the happenings in the 2012 NBA playoffs, head over to SB Nation’s dedicated NBA hub.

James had 34 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Heat, while Wade added 23 points.

For more on these teams, visit Heat blog Peninsula is Mightier and CelticsBlog. To stay up to date on all of the happenings in the 2012 NBA playoffs, head over to SB Nation’s dedicated NBA hub.

So how do we assign blame? To a certain extent, James is at fault for leaving the guy who can tie the game to cover the guy who can only get it within one point. However, this never would have happened if Wade hadn’t gambled for the steal, so he’s the guy I’d blame the most for the breakdown. Then again, if the Celtics weren’t poised and if Pierce didn’t make that basket cut, Allen never would have gotten that shot anyway.

For more on these teams, visit Heat blog Peninsula is Mightier and CelticsBlog. To stay up to date on all of the happenings in the 2012 NBA playoffs, head over to SB Nation’s dedicated NBA hub.

Who do you think won the staring contest?

No matter what, though, the Celtics need more from their backbone.

The Celtics point guard has already racked up 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting to go with seven assists, giving his team the offensive push they lacked in Game 1 of this series. Overall, the Celtics are shooting 54.1 percent from the floor and have been able to score points both around the bucket and with the midrange jumper.

This game is by no means over, but so far we’re seeing a very motivated Celtics team that is playing quicker and with a bit of urgency, and it’s matching the athleticism and raw talent of Miami.

1. The Celtics are feasting off midrange jumpers. Boston has taken 25 shots classified as jumpers, but only two of those were 3-pointers. As well as they are scorching the net, it’s tough to create a ton of separation shooting long 2-pointers.

Just look for his name on the left side of this screenshot (click to biggify).

This has allowed Garnett to reclaim his role as a basket protector. So far, he’s barely guarding Turiaf and instead is helping on everyone else. Turiaf has already burned Garnett once with a dunk off a pick-and-roll, though.