The crowd in Miami was quiet all night. Maybe they sensed that the Heat would find a way to lose. Chris Bosh was activated for the game and played well in the first half, and the Heat seemed to be cruising early. But the veterans from Boston all stepped up, despite a horrible shooting night from Rajon Rondo, and Mickael Pietrus contributed 13 points off the bench, including two huge threes in the fourth quarter. Rondo didn’t shoot well, but he had 13 assists and came up with clutch passes time and again. Kevin Garnett was a beast with 26 points and some monster dunks, and Paul Peirce overcame early shooting woes to contribute 19 points and a three-pointer in Lebron’s face that served as the final dagger.
Meanwhile, the Heat just didn’t rise to the occasion. They didn’t play terribly, and Lebron didn’t wilt like he did last year in the Finals, but they just didn’t have enough to win a critical game 5 at home.
You can’t count Miami out for game 6, as Bosh should get more playing time and all of these games have been very close. But losing game 5 at home is devastating, and the Celtics won’t leave anything on the court for game 6. Will the Heat do the same?
