NBA Playoffs 2012, Celtics Vs. Heat Reaction: Miami Can’t Rest On Their Laurels

It looked like the Miami Heat were going to drop the second game of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night, as Rajon Rondo had a career night and was virtually unstoppable in the first half of the game. The Heat made the necessary adjustments in the second half and rallied back from a double-digit deficit, the largest comeback in team playoff history, and eventually took the lead. Miami let Boston back in the game late, sending it to overtime, but it was all Miami after that.

While the victory was well-deserved and made their plays when it counted the most in overtime, the Heat allowed the visiting team to dictate the pace of the game from the outset to fall behind from a deficit that at one time was 14 points and could not turn it around until the second half. Even still, once the Heat finally was able to take the lead and appeared ready to blow the game wide open with a dominant third quarter as they had done in their current winning streak dating back to the Pacers series, the Celtics simply would not go away and clawed right back into the game to retake the lead. The final moments of regulation were some of the most intense sequences that the Heat have faced this postseason and the team will be better off in the end for getting tested so heavily by the Celtics.