They were all wrong.
The Heat have defeated their demons and eliminated the Celtics from the Eastern Conference playoffs, getting 10 consecutive points down the stretch from LeBron James to seal the deal. All told, it's a 16-0 run to end it for Miami.
Dwyane Wade finishes with 34 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals. LeBron adds 33, seven, four and one steal. Chris Bosh adds 14 and 11.
Maybe three guys is all it takes.
The Heat are going on to the Eastern Conference finals, where they'll take on either Chicago or Atlanta. The Celtics are going home, where their long summer vacation begins.
This is the end of a season for Boston. It may be the end of an era.
Fourth quarter, 40.4 seconds, Heat 93-87: LeBron for 3 again.
That might just about do it.
Fourth quarter, 2:10, Heat 90-87: LeBron James is ready to exorcise these demons and finally beat the Celtics. That 3 just proved it. The King is ready to take his throne.
The Celtics are in serious trouble now. The Heat have been lights-out in this fourth quarter. They're on the verge of putting away this game, this series and the Celtics' season.
Fourth quarter, 3:44, Celtics 87-85: By decree of James Jones, this game is far from over.
J.J. knocks down a deadly 3 from the wing. The Heat are back within two.
The Celtics have been a little disjointed offensively over the last few minutes. They need to get their stuff together, and quick, to hold the Heat off.
Fourth quarter, 5:21, Celtics 83-79: Two huge plays for the Celtics in the last mintues. First Delonte West gets going in transition, throws down a dunk, falls on top of Chris Bosh, and somehow lands on his feet with catlike grace.
Then the C's smothering defense forces a Miami shot-clock violation.
Big swing for the Celtics, who have led the entire fourth quarter and are still in control.
Fourth quarter, 8:46, Celtics 81-74: Delonte West has been huge so far in the fourth quarter. First he gets to the line and hits two shots; then one possession later, he drives the lane for a bucket.
You might say the difference in this game has been the production of the Celtics' bench. Miami has been a big three and not much else tonight; Boston is showing its depth.
Fourth quarter, 10:38, Celtics 77-72: Jeff Green darts into the paint and knocks down a floater in the lane. That was a very nice shot. Green's quietly put together a solid game offensively.
Nine points for the former Thunder forward. The Celtics' lead is back to five. That's called breathing room, and it's something the Celtics haven't had much of tonight.
End of third quarter, Celtics 73-71: The Celtics' lead, as well as their season, just keeps on hanging by a thread.
The C's lead by two. Dwyane Wade has 30 points and LeBron James has 20, and the two have combined to shoot 18-of-28. But the Celtics remain just barely ahead.
They're hurt, they're gassed, and they've been jeered at all night by a surprisingly energetic Miami crowd. But if the C's can hold on for 12 more minutes, they will live to play a Game 6 back in Boston on Friday night.
Third quarter, 3:11, Heat 66-65: That's two more free throws for D-Wade. He's now got 28 points, and the Heat have the lead.
The Celtics are beginning to feel this one slip away.
They've got to fix a few mistakes in these final 15-ish minutes. They need better control of the ball, better shot selection, and of course better defense on Wade.
This is going to be a grind of a fourth quarter.
Third quarter, 5:10, Celtics 63-61: It's a block party, and everyone's invited.
First Juwan Howard goes up for a dunk and Kevin Garnett slams him; then KG recovers the loose ball and heaves it down the floor for Paul Pierce, but Pierce gets rejected at the rim by Chris Bosh.
This game is getting physical. No cheap shots, no flagrant fouls, just hard, aggressive play from both teams on both ends.
This is what the playoffs should be.
Third quarter, 6:01, Celtics 63-57: Chris Bosh gets inside and draws a foul. He'll shoot two.
Bosh only has seven points tonight. He's battled a lot — nerves, criticisms, and of course Kevin Garnett — in this series. But if he can help the Heat make a comeback in Game 5 to close this series out, that'll be sweet redemption for the former Raptor.
Third quarter, 8:11, Celtics 58-52: Wow. Ray Allen hits a ridiculous shot, a wing 3 with Dwyane Wade plowing him over. Ray gets to the line and finishes the four-point play.
Ray now has 15, a team high for Boston. If he keeps shooting like this, we'll have a Game 6.
Third quarter, 9:37, Celtics 53-49: The Heat are going away in this second half, so the Celtics need to keep scoring efficiently. They're off to a good start so far, as Jermaine O'Neal gets a good look inside and lays one up.
J.O. finishes the three-point play. It's good to see them establish a post presence. They can't win this game without it.
Halftime, Celtics 49-47: Backs to the wall, season on the line, whatever you want to call it — the Celtics are responding to it. Dwyane Wade is having a game for the ages, and yet the Celtics remain up two at the break.
Wade knocks down a mid-range jump shot in the final seconds of the first half, giving him a total of 23 for the night. But the Celtics shoot 54.5 percent as a team, outdoing the one-man show just barely through 24 minutes.
The C's get a huge first half from Kevin Garnett — 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals — plus 11 from Ray Allen.
Can they hold onto this one and force a Game 6 back home?
Second quarter, 1:52, Celtics 45-41: The Heat continue to make their push, but the Celtics are hitting just barely enough shots to hold them off. This time it's Ray Allen nailing a wing 3, pushing the lead from one to four.
Ray's 4-of-6 now, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
It's been proven time and time again — when Ray plays well, the Celtics play well. This could be one of those nights.
Second quarter, 4:17, Celtics 39-34: LeBron James has been beastly in this second quarter, charging into the paint with absolutely no fear. He's dying to win this game.
LeBron draws a foul from Jermaine O'Neal, his second. Doc yanks J.O. for Glen Davis.
LeBron hits two shots.
Second quarter, 6:52, Celtics 34-27: The game of runs continues. This time the Celtics rattle off six quick ones, getting a three-point play from Paul Pierce and a quick trifetcta from Ray Allen.
The Celtics are getting big buckets from their veterans. But can they really expect to win this game if it's a battle of big threes? Their stars are older, tireder and covered with bumps and bruises.
They need to get more from the supporting cast.
Second quarter, 8:58, Celtics 26-23: The Heat leaned on their big three for the entire fourth quarter and overtime Monday night, plus all of the first tonight. But they finally get another guy involved: Mike Miller, who gets a breakaway in transition, misses a layup, and then correct his own mistake with the putback.
Now it's a 7-0 run for Miami. The Celtics' lead was 10, and it's now three.
The C's bench need to respond. Delonte West and Glen Davis need to give them something.
Second quarter, 9:33, Celtics 26-21: Wade is off the floor, but that only means a chance for LeBron and Bosh to come to life here in this second quarter. And come to life, they have.
LeBron drills a 3. Bosh gets to the line and hits two shots.
Here come the Heat.
End of first quarter, Celtics 24-16: Rajon Rondo and Jermaine O'Neal are both injured, and they might be back, but not at full strength. The C's are trying to shock the world and win this game anyway.
They're doing well so far. They've held LeBron James to 0-for-4 shooting, and despite a couple of ridiculous buckets from Dwyane Wade, the Celtics have been the more efficient offensive team so far.
Kevin Garnett has 12 points, five rebounds, two steals and an assist for Boston. A monster first quarter.
Wade has 11 points and three boards for the Heat.
First quarter, 2:58, Celtics 15-12: So far, the Celtics have maintained the lead in a "defensive struggle"-type ballgame. Can that last? Rely on it at your own risk.
LeBron James has precisely one point. Chris Bosh has two. Keeping these guys down for a few minutes is doable. But over the course of a playoff game, they'll inevitably come to life sooner or later.
The Celtics can't wait to grab this game by the horns. They've got to crank up the offense now.
First quarter, 5:31, Celtics 11-7: Kevin Garnett knocks down another jumper. He's now got seven points, shooting 3-of-4.
The C's have been just barely efficient enough to stave the Heat so far. But this doesn't feel sustainable. They're not executing — they're just getting some fortunate bounces on the rims.
First quarter, 6:21, Celtics 9-7: Paul Pierce is forced to foul LeBron James in transition, but it's poor timing. He's picked up his second personal foul very early in the game.
LeBron hits one of two free throws, cutting the Celtics' lead to two at 9-7.
Doc Rivers hasn't yanked Pierce yet, but he might do so soon. Jeff Green appears to be standing up from the Celtics' bench.
First quarter, 8:45, Celtics 6-4: So far, the Celtics only have one guy playing like he doesn't want an early summer vacation. It's the captain — Paul Pierce charges to the basket for a hard driving layup to make it 6-4 Boston.
Outside of Pierce, the Celtics have been a lazy offensive team so far, settling for weak jumpers without even trying to move the ball.
This has got to change.
First quarter, 11:31, Heat 1-0: Dwyane Wade draws a foul from Paul Pierce on the first Heat possession of the ballgame, getting to the line for two. He hits one of them.
The C's are the older, weaker, more banged-up team right now, but they absolutely have to walk that thin line between being physical and fouling tonight.
Against this team of athletes, that's way easier said than done.
7 p.m.: Rajon Rondo is starting, but don't expect him to get the full 40-minute allotment he's used to. He's still hurting.
Delonte West and Carlos Arroyo are both active. Expect them both to carry plenty of the workload if Rondo can't get it done — defensively.
6 p.m.: Rajon Rondo is in the building, but he's got to do a whole lot more than just show up tonight. He's got to save the Celtics' season, dislocated elbow or not.
Kevin Garnett has been miserable, Ray Allen has gone cold, and Paul Pierce couldn't come through in the biggest moment on Monday night back in Boston. If the Celtics are to be saved, Rondo has to be the savior.
Either that, or it's an early summer vacation for the Celtics. We shall see.
8 a.m.: The Celtics are down 3-1 in their second-round playoff series with the Miami Heat. They've had their backs pushed up against the wall faster than ever before in the Big Three era.
Now they must win Game 5 to stay alive, and they're forced to do it in enemy territory. They haven't fared well in Miami lately, with two losses to open this Eastern Conference semifinal series and a regular-season drubbing back in April as well.
Their season is over unless they discover a way to win at American Airlines Arena.
"We don't look at whether we're in Miami, Boston or anywhere," Ray Allen said. "We've had to win on the road in our history together. We've had to win in some tough environments, and this is no different. We have to trust in who we have out on the floor, we have to trust in our coaching staff, and we have to know that the stuff that we have, it works. We have to trust it and believe in it and push forward."
Ray's saying all the right things, but the Celtics have a lot of demons to overcome down in Florida on Wednesday night. They lost their composure in Game 1, with ejections and flagrant fouls marring an ugly contest they trailed nearly from wire to wire. They lost their energy in Game 2, blowing an 80-80 tie in the fourth quarter by letting up a 14-0 run.
Now they have to win to keep hope alive in 2011.
Forget about Banner 18 for now. All that matters to these Celtics is Game 5.
The C's and Heat tip off at 7 p.m.
