Boston 94, Miami 90

[recap] [box score]

You want to know when I knew the Celtics were going to win Game 5?

It was well before Kevin Garnett grabbed Dwyane Wade's desperation three-pointer and flung it downcourt as the final seconds ticked off the clock. It was well before Garnett hit a pair of free throws to keep the Boston lead at four points in those final seconds, and before Ray Allen knocked down a pair the possession before. It was even before Paul Pierce, his team clinging to a one-point lead with less than a minute left, shook off a 5-for-18 shooting night, stared down the MVP, and drilled perhaps the Truthiest shot of his career.

It was with 9:37 left in the game. Not a moment you remember? Read on.

With Boston leading 70-67, Garnett picked up his fourth foul on the offensive end, having allegedly thrown Dwyane Wade to the floor while fighting for post possession. KG took a few steps downcourt while cradling the basketball, raised it to his lips for a quick kiss, then flipped it to a referee.

I didn't know at that moment. I didn't know until a couple of seconds later, when they showed the replay, and I saw that Garnett hadn't touched Wade; Wade had gotten his feet tangled up with James as the latter was chasing a Celtic on the perimeter. It was a bad call at a crucial moment -- and Garnett didn't say a word.

"These guys are dialed in," I thought. And that's when I knew.

Really, I should have noticed it earlier. Doc Rivers did; at halftime, he said was proud of his guys for sticking it out in the first half, which was a nightmare of missed layups and clanked jumpers. (Despite shooting just 33% in the opening half, they went into the break down just two.) They survived two early fouls on Rajon Rondo and some quasi-foul trouble on other key players. Garnett had a monster dunk in the third quarter while getting fouled by James Jones, and didn't so much as look at Jones, never mind bark at him or brush shoulders as he walked to the free throw line -- the kind of stuff we've come to expect. There were some lapses -- Rajon Rondo's backcourt violation, Rondo allowing Norris Cole to chase him down from behind on a two-on-one break, Brandon Bass picking up a technical for spiking the ball in frustration -- but for the most part, this was the most focused the Celtics have been in this postseason.

This was in contrast to the Heat. They were once again preoccupied with the officials, though perhaps not as badly as in previous games, had some major lapses in transition defense, and at times seemed afraid to take shots or run any offense whatsoever.

Boston's focus culminated in what seemed like a postseason's worth of loose balls in the fourth quarter. The first, and the one that everyone's talking about, was the Rondo tap-out to Mickael Pietrus after Wade made an incredible block of a Bass dunk. It was an incredible play and gets a lot of attention because of it staved off a major momentum shift in favor of Miami -- the Heat were already up six, and Wade's block was so spectacular it would have taken the roof off the building. But the second Rondo deflection, this time off an Allen miss, was an even more remarkable play. Instead of simply tapping the ball to a nearby teammate, on this play Rondo -- while moving forward and slightly to his right -- essentially threw a tap bounce pass across his body to the left, past a Heat defender and into an open space where Pietrus could retrieve it. MP got the ball to Pierce, who penetrated and kicked to Garnett, whose jumper gave Boston a one-point lead.

The final loose ball that went our way was the luckiest. Pierce threw a bad pass to Allen that was deflected, bounced off a Heat player, then off Allen's leg. Allen dove on it, and from the floor, kicked it out to Pierce, who hit Pietrus in the corner. Pietrus hit his second huge three of the quarter, balancing out a Mario Chalmers three on the previous possession. These were plays that we simply hadn't made earlier in the playoffs.

This was a huge win, but the series isn't over yet, and Boston has to be ready to play a full 48 minutes of focused basketball on Thursday. There's always the chance, I suppose, that the Celtics can deliver an early knockout punch like they did in Game 6 of the 2008 Finals -- these Heat aren't mentally tough the same way those Lakers weren't mentally tough -- but huge games from James and Wade are a more likely scenario. Garnett was huge, again, but he may have his hands a bit more full in Game 6 with Chris Bosh, who inexplicably played just 12 minutes in his return to the corner. Pietrus had his best game of the postseason, on both ends of the court. Other than those two, however, no one could really get going, and the Celtics will have to find a way to get the offense going while being prepared, like they were tonight, for things to get cold again. They must anticipate that James and Wade will get every call in a close-out game, and keep their composure and play through any frustration. They can't count on Miami missing open looks, or being confused by Doc switching defenses the way they were in Game 5.

They can close it out at home, but to do so, they'll have to play their best game yet.