MIAMI — The Miami Heat knows what’s coming from the Boston Celtics.
“Their all,” Dwyane Wade said.
That’s what usually happens when one team is fighting to save its season — and in this case, the Big Four era in Boston might be at stake as well.
The Eastern Conference finals shift to Boston tonight for Game 3, with the Heat holding a 2-0 lead after staving off perhaps the Celtics’ best shot to win a classic. Boston’s core of Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen combined to score 96 points in Game 2, the most they’ve ever scored in a game together, and it still wasn’t enough as the Heat held serve at home with a 115-111 overtime victory.
So now, in a season of challenges for the Celtics, the toughest test yet has arrived. Only 14 teams in NBA history have rallied from an 0-2 hole to win a best-of-seven series, and the Celtics haven’t done it since 1969.
“We still know we have to play better,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said Thursday. “But I think our guys know now that we can play (with Miami).”
