Heat rally, grab 2-0 lead over Celtics

The biggest postseason comeback in Miami Heat franchise history wasn't enough.

The Heat needed more - and got it, digging deep to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

LeBron James scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Dwyane Wade scored 23 and the Heat rallied from 15 down to beat the visiting Boston Celtics 115-111 in overtime on Wednesday night.

Mario Chalmers scored 22 for the Heat, who won despite an unbelievable night by Rajon Rondo. The Celtics guard played all 53 minutes and scored 44 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed eight rebounds. The Heat expected Boston's best - and the Celtics didn't disappoint.

"This group had resolve," Wade said of the Celtics. "They came out and played a great game. It was physical early. They brought the game to us. That can't happen. We used our crowd and the energy to get back into the game and we had to play better."

Paul Pierce scored 21 points, Kevin Garnett added 18 and Ray Allen 13 for Boston.

Rondo finished 16 of 24 from the floor, 10 of 12 from the foul line and made both his 3-point tries.

"He was absolutely phenomenal," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "Put us, put the whole team at times on his shoulders. ... We had a lot of opportunities to win the game.”

Allen’s 3-pointer with 34.3 seconds left tied the game at 99-all. James missed two shots, first a layup — he got the rebound of his own miss — and then a jumper on the final possession of regulation, and to overtime they went.

“We had to do it the tough way,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Game 3 is Friday in Boston.

Hornets get top pick: The New Orleans Hornets, recently sold by the NBA to Saints owner Tom Benson, won the NBA’s draft lottery and the No. 1 pick overall.

The Hornets, after a difficult season in which they traded All-Star Chris Paul, have a shot to add another superstar, with Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis considered the best player available.

The Hornets moved up from the fourth spot, where they had a 13.7 percent chance, to earn the pick.

The Charlotte Bobcats, after the worst season in NBA history, fell to the No. 2 pick. Washington will pick third and Cleveland fell one spot to fourth.

The Hornets landed the No. 1 pick for the first time since 1991, when they were still in Charlotte and took Larry Johnson.

The big loser — as usual in their historically bad season — were the Bobcats. They had a 25 percent chance of grabbing the No. 1 pick, but instead will have to take the best player after Davis, college’s player of the year after leading the Wildcats to the national championship.

The team with the worst record hasn’t won since Orlando drafted Dwight Howard in 2004.