BOSTON — Rajon Rondo delivered the trash talk at halftime and the big plays in overtime.
And after one final defensive stand — maybe assisted by a Garden ghost — the Boston Celtics were two wins away from an improbable chance to play for another championship.
Rondo had 15 points and 15 assists, and he scored the final three points of the Celtics’ 93-91 overtime victory over the Miami Heat on Sunday night that evened the Eastern Conference finals at two games apiece.
Getting a huge break when LeBron James fouled out for the first time since joining the Heat, the Celtics recovered after blowing an 18-point lead in regulation and moved two games away from a third trip to the NBA finals in five years.
Garnett added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Celtics, while Paul Pierce scored 23 points before fouling out. Ray Allen finished with 16 points.
“Stops,” Rondo said when asked what was the difference in the tight game. “I think we executed offensively, came up with some lucky plays, and we got stops at the end.”
James had 29 points, and Wade scored 20 after another dismal start for the Heat, who host Game 5 on Tuesday.
“Not stressed the series is tied 2-2,” James said. “It’s great basketball, great competition. We wanted to get one up here, and we didn’t.”
In a game that started as a Celtics blowout and turned into a foul- and tension-filled fourth quarter, followed by the second overtime in this series, the Celtics held on when Wade missed a potential winning 3-pointer on the last possession.
“It was a good look. It was online but didn’t want to go in,” Wade said. “Got the shot off I wanted, and that is all you can ask for.”
Celtics coach Doc Rivers had his own unusual reasoning for Wade’s oh-so-close shot.
“Red wasn’t going to let that go in. Not in the Boston Garden,” he said of former coach Red Auerbach.
Mickael Pietrus drew James’ sixth foul and grabbed two huge offensive rebounds that extended consecutive possessions for the Celtics.
Celtics 93, Heat 91 (OT)
MIAMI (91)
James 12-25 4-8 29, Battier 2-4 0-0 6, Anthony 1-1 0-0 2, Chalmers 5-13 2-2 12, Wade 7-22 4-5 20, Miller 1-4 0-0 2, Haslem 4-6 4-4 12, Cole 1-2 3-5 5, Jones 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 34-80 17-24 91.
BOSTON (93)
Pierce 8-18 5-6 23, Bass 3-8 5-5 11, Garnett 8-20 1-1 17, Rondo 7-14 1-2 15, Allen 6-16 0-0 16, Stiemsma 0-0 0-0 0, Daniels 0-1 1-2 1, Dooling 3-5 1-2 10, Pietrus 0-3 0-2 0. Totals 35-85 14-20 93.
Miami 23 24 21 21 2 — 91
Boston 34 27 12 16 4 — 93
3-Point Goals—Miami 6-19 (Battier 2-3, Wade 2-6, Jones 1-2, James 1-3, Miller 0-2, Chalmers 0-3), Boston 9-27 (Allen 4-11, Dooling 3-4, Pierce 2-6, Garnett 0-1, Rondo 0-2, Pietrus 0-3). Fouled Out—James, Pierce. Rebounds—Miami 56 (Haslem 17), Boston 53 (Garnett 14). Assists—Miami 20 (Wade 6), Boston 22 (Rondo 15). Total Fouls—Miami 28, Boston 30. Technicals—Rondo. A—18,624 (18,624).
