By HOWARD BECK
Published: June 1, 2012BOSTON — The foul was hard and sudden, and it left Kevin Garnett flat on his back, his lanky frame spread across a broad expanse of green-toned hardwood. He flipped over, put his knuckles to the floor and pressed hard for eight push-ups, the din at the TD Garden growing louder with each one.It was only the second quarter, but the Boston Celtics had made their point: down, not out. Prone, but still kicking.
Garnett provided the symbolism Friday night, then followed through with enough points, rebounds and determination to lead the Celtics to a series-saving 101-91 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. Miami leads the series, two games to one.
There was nothing subtle about the Celtics’ agenda. They wanted Garnett deep in the paint, the ball in his hands or sailing toward him for easy layups and dunks. He shot 16 times, converted 10 times and finished with team highs in points (24), rebounds (11) and push-ups.
“My uncle taught me to do push-ups on my knuckles,” Garnett explained. “I don’t know who do push-ups in here, but there’s very few who do it on their knuckles. That’s some Army-Navy type stuff.”
How tough is it? “Try it,” he said.
After being routed in Game 1 and collapsing in overtime in Game 2, the Celtics put together their best collective performance in game 3, dominating the middle quarters, building a 24-point lead, then hanging on for dear life when Miami cut the margin to 8 late in the fourth quarter.
Rajon Rondo followed up his 44-point game with a more modest but equally vital effort: 21 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds. Paul Pierce added 23 points on a difficult shooting night (7 for 21).
For the first time in the series, Boston outscored Miami in the paint (58-46) and took more free throws (26-20). So it was Miami’s turn to ponder the officiating. LeBron Jameswas awarded only five foul shots — 19 fewer than his Game 2 total. Dwyane Wade took none, the first time that has happened in a playoff game since his rookie season.
“I don’t know,” Wade said, when asked if it bothered him. “I played my game. I attacked when I needed to.” He added, “I guess it just wasn’t for me — it wasn’t easy for me to get to the line tonight.”
James and Wade kept their comments measured. Coach Erik Spoelstra did not make officiating an issue, either. But James seemed to make his point when he noted: “We’re attack guys. We’ll continue to attack and try to force the issue.”
James was the Heat’s only consistent scorer, with 34 points. Wade struggled all night, shooting 9 for 20 to finish with 18 points. Mario Chalmers added 14 points.
Boston took its biggest lead, 87-63, on a Ray Allen jumper early in the fourth quarter, and the Celtics seemed ready to cruise to the final buzzer. The mood changed rather quickly.
Miami deployed a small lineup — James and Wade, along with Shane Battier, Mike Miller and Chalmers — and ran off an 11-0 blitz. Miller hit three 3-pointers in the run, sending a shudder through the building. A 3-point play by Chalmers cut the lead to 95-87 with 3 minutes 9 seconds to play.
At that point, the Heat had converted 10 of 15 field goals in the quarter, while the Celtics were disintegrating one possession at a time: four turnovers and nine missed field goals.
But the Celtics rediscovered their defense down the stretch, holding Miami to 4 points in the final three minutes. Pierce made two free throws, Rondo sliced in for a layup and Garnett hit a 20-footer to help secure the victory. Game 4 is Sunday, also in Boston.
“I thought we settled a bit tonight,” Chalmers said of the Heat’s offense. “We weren’t getting things to go our way, so we started settling for jumpers.”
The Celtics seized control early, taking a modest lead late in the first quarter, extending it to 13 points in the second and to 22 in the third. Their 24-point lead in the fourth was the largest by either team in the series.
Garnett was the key, taking advantage of Miami’s shaky front line and the absence of the injured All-Star Chris Bosh.
“We’ve got to just keep the discipline of staying with it," Coach Doc Rivers said of featuring Garnett.
Rondo added: “He kept preaching to just throw it up to him. We just threw it up to the rim. He went and got most of them.”
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