Wade had a chance to make it two-possession game with 47.7 seconds left, but made just 1 of 2 free throws. The Celtics tied the game on their next possession with Allen’s wide-open three-pointer. At the beginning of the side-out-of-bounds play, Wade went for an ill-conceived steal that ultimately left Allen wide open.

A three-pointer by Mike Miller gave the Heat an 84-77 lead less than a minute into the fourth quarter but the Celtics fought their way back. A pair of free throws by Kevin Garnett put Boston ahead by three points with 5:43 to play and a skillful bucket by Rondo gave the Celtics a 92-87 lead.

All those times Spoelstra has talked about the potential of Chalmers--he was apparently talking about Wednesday night. With Wade struggling in the first half, Chalmers kept the Heat in the game with three three-pointers and 14 points.

“It’s my job to provide that spark of energy,” Chalmers said. “I just needed to pick up the slack until D-Wade got going.”

The Heat outscored the Celtics 35-22 in the third quarter. After an abysmal first half, Wade led the comeback with 12 points. He was 1 of 6 in the first half but made 5 of 7 shots in the first 12 minutes of the second half.

“I’ve been trying to be patient,” Wade said. “Right now I think I’m making the right adjustments for my team to win, and I think that’s important.”

The third-quarter resurgence was part of a larger trend for the Heat. In the past five games, the Heat has outscored its opponents by double-digits in third quarters. Miami’s 35 points was the second highest scoring total for the Heat in the third quarter in the postseason.

James and Wade combined for 14 points, four rebounds and two assists in the first half. Meanwhile, Rondo had 22 points, four rebounds and seven assists all by himself.