Mario Chalmers was the star of the Heat’s statistic sheet the last time the Heat lost this postseason.

His 25-point effort in Game 3 against the Indiana Pacers was just a footnote in an ugly defeat.

His performance Wednesday night against the Celtics meant a lot more.

Chalmers finished with 22 points, including 14 in the first half, to keep the Heat afloat long enough to rally for a 115-111 overtime victory in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals. Chalmers also had six assists, four rebounds and two steals.

"[The first half stretch] was very important because we had to play catch-up and that's not something we're accustomed to," Chalmers said. "I just tried to pick up the slack. That's my job to provide energy."

One game after the Heat made the Celtics look awful from the perimeter, the Heat struggling mightily from the field, shooting only 36.6 percent in the first half Wednesday.

Dwyane Wade, in particular, couldn’t find the mark.

Wade scored only two points in the first half on 1-of-6 shooting, scoring his first points with 27 seconds remaining before halftime.

The Celtics took advantage and led by as many as 15 before halftime, mainly due to Celtics guard Rajon Rondo’s dominant performance.

Rondo finished with 44 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

Rondo had 22 points in the first half, shooting 7 of 11 and going 8 of 10 from the line as he often drove past Heat defenders and drew fouls. Neither Chalmers nor anyone else on the Heat could slow Rondo.

But Chalmers kept things from getting worse on the offensive end in the first half, giving Miami some clutch shots that prevented Boston from taking a bigger lead.

Chalmers made 3 of 5 three-point attempts and 5 of 10 overall in the first half. He also had four assists.

Rondo was held to only four in the third quarter as Chalmers helped the Heat on a 35-point outburst.

Chalmers came up with a huge defensive play in overtime with the Heat leading 107-105. He broke up a pass into the low post by the Celtics, and the Heat extended the lead to five and held on for the victory.

Chalmers has been a solid offensive contributor throughout the playoffs so far.

In 12 playoff games entering Wednesday’s game, Chalmers was averaging 11.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.

The assists match his average during the regular season. But his points and rebounds are better than the 9.8 points and 2.7 rebounds he averaged during the season.

Against the Pacers May 17, Chalmers also stepped up while the Heat and Wade struggled.

Chalmers finished that game with a game-high 25 points and five assists to go along with six rebounds. In that game, the Heat fell apart in the second half, and Wade struggled mightily finishing with five points on 2-of-13 shooting.

But the Heat didn’t have another collapse Wednesday night.

Wade finally found his rhythm, scoring 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. The Heat took the lead for the first time since the opening basket with a layup by Udonis Haslem with 2:55 left in the third.

"It definitely feels good because of the way we fought back," Chalmers said. "But we can't get comfortable."