MIAMIFor one half, the Boston Celtics had the Miami Heat right where they wanted them.
Dwyane Wade couldn't make a shot. Somebody other than LeBron James was leading the Heat in scoring.
And Rajon Rondo was the best player on the floor, hands down.
He was that player for most of the night.
But Rondo's best wasn't good enough on this night as the Heat squeaked out a 115-111 overtime win.
As was the case in Game One, this game also had its share of question officiating that went against the Celtics.
Trailing 107-105, Rajon Rondo drove into the lane and missed a lay-up where replays showed he was fouled by Dwyane Wade.
Boston Celtics
No call was made.
From there, the Celtics were never the same team despite Rondo's incredible 44-point, 10 assist, eight-rebound night.
Boston returns home trailing 2-0 in the series with Games 3 and 4 at the TD Garden on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
In a game that featured a few twists and turns, the game's momentum took a major swing in Miami's favor following a blocked shot by Wade on a driving lay-up attempt by Ray Allen.
Boston was leading 71-66 at the time of Allen's miss.
Miami responded to Wade's block with a 12-0 run to take the lead and spent the rest of the quarter playing catch up as it ended with the Heat ahead, 81-75.
But the Celtics had their own momentum-swinging moment in the fourth quarter.
After Kevin Garnett was fouled by James Jones, Garnett was whistled for a technical foul on the play.
Boston then reeled off nine straight to regain the lead, 88-85, but couldn't come up with the big shot or big stops in the game's final minutes to steal away home court.
For the C's, it was a disappointing finish to a game that began with such promise, as a lay-up by Rondo gave the C's their first lead of the series, 4-2.
But it wasn't his usual darting-to-the-basket lay-up; instead, it was a jumper.
It would serve as a warning shot from the 6-1 point guard for what he was planning to continue firing up in the first half.
Rondo's jumper, far and away the weakest part of his game, was suddenly a source of strength for him and the Celtics in the first half.
Indeed, it was Rondo splashing a jumper in the middle of the lane, from the wing and of course, a dash of dashing to the basket for a lay-up or two was of course in order.
At half, Rondo was well on his way to a triple-double with 22 points, seven assists and four rebounds.
Consider this.
Rondo had more points at the half than LeBron James (13 points) and Dwyane Wade (two points) combined.
Despite his one-man dominance, the Celtics only led 53-46 at half against a Heat team that shot less than 37 percent from the field.
For Miami, it was the 3-ball that kept them afloat in the first half with Mario Chalmers leading the way.
Chalmers, who has averaged 11.1 points in the playoffs this year, had 14 at the half which included him connecting on 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
Miami continued to keep within arm's reach of the C's courtesy of the 3-ball in the third quarter, as James connected on a pair that cut into Boston's single digit lead.
Meanwhile, the C's countered with a steady dose of attacking the lane and getting to the free throw line. At the half, Boston had 19 free throw attempts compared to just 14 for the Heat.