Pushed to the Brink

Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and the Celtics have had no answer for Miami's Big Three through two games and now trail the Heat in the Eastern Conference Semifinals 0-2. 

The Boston Celtics are officially in trouble.

After losing their cool and dropping Game One in Miami on Sunday afternoon, the championship-or-bust Celtics fell victim to the upstart Heat once again on Tuesday, 102-91, and now find their pursuit of Banner 18 in serious jeopardy.

For the first time in the Big Three era, the Celtics now trail a postseason series 0-2.

"Nothing we can do about it," said head coach Doc Rivers after the game. "We've got a third game and we've got to take care of that. Whatever the past is, it is. They've won two games at home. But we can't allow them to play like this, or it's going to be tough at our place."

Adding injury to insult, three of the Celtics Big Four suffered injuries during Game 2. First, it was Paul Pierce straining his left achilles midway through the first quarter. Then, Ray Allen had to be taken to the locker room with a bruised chest after absorbing an elbow from LeBron James during the second quarter. All the while, point guard Rajon Rondo battled a tight back that plagued him for the entirety of the game.

As a result, the Celtics were never able to get their starting five together on the court at once.

"It was a circus going on at one point," admitted Rivers. "Ray needed to be taken to the locker room, Paul was coming out of the locker room, Rondo was asking to come out, almost simultaneously. It was sketchy."

Beyond injury, the Celtics have struggled simply because their stars have yet to hit their stride in unison. While Garnett (16 points, 6 boards) and Rondo (20 points, 12 assists and 6 boards) rebounded after a poor showing in Game 1, Allen and Pierce struggled mightily in Game 2. Allen finished with just 7 points on 2-7 shooting on Tuesday while Pierce scored just 13 points in 33 minutes.

Meanwhile, Boston still had no answer for Miami's Big Three.

Lebron James (35, 7, 5), Dwyane Wade (28, 8, 7) and Chris Bosh (17, 11) combined to score 80 of Miami's 102 points.

"We're trying to figure it out and get it together," explained KG. "And we will. We have no choice. This is it."

In their storied history, the Celtics are just 1-7 all-time when trailing a best-of-seven series 0-2. Their lone comeback came in 1969 when the Bill Russell, John Havlieck-led Celts rallied to defeat the Lakers in the NBA Finals.

The only positive on their side is the fact that the banged up Celts have three days off to recover before Game 3 tips off in Boston Saturday night.

"A loss is frustrating," said Kevin Garnett after the game. "I'm not going to say one or two plays made it or whatever. We knew it was going to be hell coming in playing here. Now it's time to go home and take care of our home court."

The Celtics have no choice but to cowboy up and strike back against Miami before it's too late. And, while many younger teams would fold under the enormous pressure of trailing a series 0-2, the veteran Celts are experienced enough to realize that all it takes is one win to seize the momentum and turn the series around.

"Being down 2-0 doesn't scare any of us, doesn't make us nervous," concluded Allen after the game. "It's just an opportunity to come out shining."