So when it all fell apart in four fateful minutes — with the Heat going on a 16-0 run and a six-point lead turning into a blowout loss — the Celtics walked off the floor deflated, but perhaps not entirely surprised. They took this one in stride. The Celtics have enjoyed a four-year run as the class of the Eastern Conference, but this was Miami's turn.
"Sometimes it just doesn't work out as you want it to work out," Glen Davis deadpanned. "There's a lot of kinks and things like that. That's just how it is. That's just how it is in the game of basketball."
The Celtics put up a hell of a fight, as they did in every game this series. They even led for most of the way in Game 5, including an advantage as big as 10 early in the second quarter. They led by six, 87-81, when Nenad Krstic knocked down a difficult 19-footer with 4:28 left. They appeared headed back to Boston for a Game 6.
But the way the Heat responded and closed matters down the stretch was too convincing to deny. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade showed up in the final minutes to settle things once and for all. They were the better team.
Wade, 29, and James, 26, are headed to the Eastern Conference finals, where they'll take on either Chicago or Atlanta.
Ray Allen, 35, can accept that.
"I congratulate them for accomplishing what they were able to accomplish, beating us in five games," Allen said. "They played a great series, and they tested us. Definitely they did. I take my hat off to them and wish them luck moving forward."
"They're a terrific team. Those three guys are tough," C's coach Doc Rivers said, including Chris Bosh. "But those two guys are monsters. When they're making shots, it makes it very difficult. The drives, you can try to take away, but when they're making jump shots like they were, they're tough to beat."
Wade shot 13-of-19 in the deciding Game 5, finishing with 34 points to lead the Heat to the victory. James scored 33, but setting aside the raw number, more important was his timing. After months — years, you could argue — of criticism that he couldn't make the big shot, he had a series of them late to overcome his demons and finally beat the Celtics.
With the game tied 87-87 and just over two minutes left, James hit a big 3-pointer to give the Heat the lead. After a Boston turnover in the final minute gave the Heat a chance to ice it, he hit another. Of those final 16 Miami points, the last 10 were his.
For LeBron, finally beating the Celtics was the validation for everything he'd been through this year. After all the backlash from his "Decision" to join the Heat, the world finally got to see why he did it. It was to beat Boston.
And believe it or not, the opposing coach was happy for him.
"I'm a big fan of the NBA," Rivers said. "And I've never seen a team more criticized in my life and a guy in LeBron more criticized for doing what was legal. He didn't break a law. He didn't do anything wrong. The preseason parade might have been a bit much, but other than that?"
It's a new era in the league today — Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan are all gone, while LeBron, Wade, Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose have their time.
For the NBA at large, that's a beautiful thing. For the Celtics, it's difficult.
"This is a tough pill to swallow," Paul Pierce said. "You have expectations at the beginning of the year, and you play so hard throughout the regular season, it's tough when you fall short. We have high goals around here in Boston. Right now, I'm just really upset. I wish we could have played better tonight, but unfortunately we came up on the short end of the stick."
