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NBA bettors who put their money on the fourth-seeded Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals were rewarded for backing them despite the second-seeded Miami Heat coming away with a 115-111 overtime victory and 2-0 series lead on Thursday. That might be the only positive for the Celtics heading into Game 3 on Friday as they try to avoid coming within one game of elimination on their own home court.

Sure, Boston’s Rajon Rondo can be a real force coming off a career-high 44 points to go along with 10 assists and eight rebounds without taking a minute off. But Rondo likely will never play another game like that again, so where do the Celtics go from here? Four of their five starters played 43 minutes or more in Game 2, and three of them are 34 years or older. Many expected Rondo to break out at least once in this series, but they also expected Boston to win that game when he did.

Unfortunately, the Celtics will point to a blown Miami foul call against Rondo in OT and the free-throw disparity in which the Heat took 18 more shots from the charity stripe. The reality is, Miami missed 16 free throws and actually gave Boston the opportunity to steal a win on the road. Heat star LeBron James missed four straight free throws at one point between the end of regulation and the beginning of the extra session. James also missed a couple potential game-winning shots at the end of regulation.

Miami can obviously play much better and may have gotten a wake-up call in the first half of Game 2 when trailing by double digits. The Heat have proven they can step up and go for the kill on the road, which is exactly what they did against the Indiana Pacers in the last round. They won Game 4 at Boston in last year’s second-round playoff series 98-90 in OT and then closed it out at home in Game 5.

Can the Celtics come out like they did in Game 3 last year when they beat the Heat 97-81 in a rout? Doubtful. Boston is a year older and dealing with key injuries to Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, who also turned in one of his best performances of the postseason with 13 points. Rondo and Allen will not play like that again in this series, which is why Miami is the pick here en route to a four-game sweep.

Free NBA Pick: Miami Heat +2