Miami 98, Boston 79

[recap] [box score]

Two stories are dominating the headlines in the aftermath of Game 6. LeBron James' incredible 45-point (deservedly) gets top billing, and Boston's inability to keep the game close in the second half plays second fiddle. Here, I'm going to address them in reverse order.

How to explain the way Boston played tonight? It's a question I've been mulling since the game ended. I'm sure there are no shortage of theories floating around out there among the media and in the blogosphere, but I'm avoiding those outlets for now. I can imagine what they're saying, though:

The Celtics choked. I don't know if anyone is actually saying this. I do know that if, say, Miami had played a closeout game the way Boston did tonight, the talking heads would be all over the Heat (and James) for not coming through in big moments. Mostly by virtue of their title in 2008, this group of Celtics should evade that particular criticism. (It's amazing what a ring will do, isn't it?)

The Celtics didn't fully appreciate the magnitude of the moment. Miami was facing elimination, and teams facing elimination generally take their play to another level (that's why Game 7s are often so intense). Might Boston not have realized this and failed to match Miami's intensity? I suppose it's possible, but again, their playoff experience over the last five years makes this unlikely. The Celtics know exactly what it takes to close out a series. I'd believe that the opposite was true -- that the Cs were overhyped for the game, something that's happened with KG before -- before I believed this.

The Celtics are out of gas. The conference finals started just two days after Boston finished a seven-game series with Philly, and the Celtics expended an extraordinary amount of energy in games 2 through 5, including two overtimes. All this with a short rotation, on old, tired, injured legs.

The Celtics were complacent. The more I think about this one, the more I have to give it at least a little credit. I don't think the players ever thought "this one's in the bag," but after outplaying the Heat for four straight games and hearing two days' worth of stories about the Miami being on the ropes, maybe the mindset wasn't quite right. Professional athletes are always walking a fine line between confidence and over-confidence, between not psyching themselves out and having appropriate respect for the moment. Maybe, for whatever reason, the formula was a little out of whack. It wouldn't be the first time -- look at the Philly series. It was just one of those nights. This, more or less, is what I believe. All the other things may have played smaller roles in the defeat, but there are nights when things just don't go right. Your shots don't fall while the opponent's shots do, the ball bounces the other way a couple times, your timing is just a fraction of a second off. It's not because you aren't prepared or succumb to the moment -- it's just one of those nights.

I thought Boston's effort level, at least up until the early part of the fourth quarter, was good. The Celtics weren't flying around the court or anything, but they were getting back on defense, running when they had the opportunity, hitting the boards, and fighting for loose balls. Everything was just a little off, and as James made tough shot after tough shot, Boston started pressing a little bit. When that happens, unless you start making shots, the game can get out of control in a hurry. In the third quarter, Boston threatened to make it a game, but they never got to the point where they were making shots consistently. Eventually, that was too much to overcome.

In other words, I don't really know what caused Boston to turn in what must be fairly described as a disappointing performance in Game 6. I do know, however, that these guys have earned the benefit of the doubt. So I'm not going to criticize their effort or preparation.

On to James. What a performance! Truly one for the ages. James at least temporarily shut up his critics who say that he doesn't perform in big games. He was a one-man show, no doubt.

That's the thing, though: He was a one-man show. Udonis Haslem was a monster on the boards, a few other guys hit a few shots, but for the most part, this was all LeBron -- scoring machine LeBron, not facilitator LeBron.

Here's the honest truth, though: I don't mind 45 points from LeBron James. If you had shown me only Miami's half of the box score before the game, I would have taken it. LeBron was prolifically, brutally efficient, but his team members weren't involved, and when the other guys aren't involved, they they don't defend as well and miss more often when they are finally called upon. That's not meant as a criticism of James -- I fully recognize how brilliant he was tonight -- it's just a fact. I've said it before and I'll say it again now: One player cannot defeat a great team if that team is playing well. Kobe couldn't do it in Game 5 in 2010. LeBron himself couldn't do it in Game 7 of the 2008 Eastern Conference semis.

The difference between Boston wins like those two games an what happened Thursday night is, of course, the Celtics. Against the Lakers in 2010, when Kobe scored 23 straight LA points during one stretch, the Cs scored 33 points, and every Boston player on the court had at least one bucket, and the team had assists on 10 of its 15 baskets. Against the Cavs in 2008, Paul Pierce matched LeBron nearly point for point (41 points to James' 45), and the Celtics supporting cast took care of the rest. Tonight, however, Boston's offense wasn't clicking. Rajon Rondo and Brandon Bass did their best to keep the team in it during the first half, but unlike the second half of Game 5, the shots just didn't fall. Boston can beat the Heat even with James playing like a deity, but to do so, they have to put the ball in the basket.

Towards the very end of the game, maybe with two-and-a-half minutes left and the benches emptied, a "Let's go Celtics!" chant slowly emerged from the Boston fans still on hand. As the game dragged on longer than it needed to, the cheer continued, and in fact grew even louder. Quite a few fans had left the Garden early, but by the final buzzer, there wasn't a green-clad fan in the stands who wasn't on his or her feet, yelling and clapping. On the bench, the Celtics' starters -- Pierce and Allen, Rondo and KG -- slowly nodded their heads, their mental preparation for Game 7 already begun.

Game 7 is in Miami on Saturday, and could mean the end of Boston's season, and so the question has to be asked: Were the fans cheering on the Celtics in advance of Game 7, a "we believe in you!" type message? Or were they thanking them for a great run this year -- and, let's face it, for the last five years, since there's a good chance that if Boston loses on Saturday, we won't see at least one key piece of this team in a Celtics uniform again?

We'll never know what the person who started the cheer intended, and the answer to the question will probably be provided by what happens in Game 7. But I ask you to consider Boston's performance following a loss in these playoffs. They are 4-1 in such games this year, including wins without Rondo (Atlanta Game 2) and without Pierce in the final minutes (Philly Game 7). The sole loss, the lone exception, was Game 2 against Miami just days ago -- when Boston played arguably its best game of the playoffs.

I'm not going to go so far to say that Boston has Miami right where they want them. "Right where they want them" is home on their couches in Miami, while we get three days to rest up for Oklahoma City. But every time their backs have been against the wall over the last six weeks or so, the Celtics have responded. They clearly aren't ready to say goodbye. And I'm not ready to say goodbye to them.