Celtics vs. Heat: How Rajon Rondo Is Taking Over Eastern Conference Finals

Rajon Rondo deserves the lion's share of attention after the Boston Celtics evened up the Eastern Conference Finals with a 93-91 overtime win in Sunday night's Game 4.

Unfortunately, much of that attention will be attributed to all the wrong reasons. At halftime of the narrow victory, Rondo unambiguously called out the Miami Heat for their ongoing interactions with the referees (via ESPN Boston's Staff):

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Asked by ESPN's Doris Burke what holes he was exploiting in the Heat defense, Rondo answered: "Them complaining and crying to the referees in transition."

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The pointed comment may have had some truth to it, too. Before the game got close in the second half, the Celtics sprinted out to a 61-47 halftime lead. It wouldn't be the first time the Heat became preoccupied with the officials.

But Rondo has contributed far more than inflammatory commentary to this series.

After scoring 44 points on 24 field-goal attempts in a Game 2 losing effort, Rondo has steadfastly led Boston to two consecutive wins. Though he scored just 36 points in the two games combined, he did so efficiently and added 25 assists in the process (including 15 in Sunday's overtime win).

There have been plenty of heroes in the Celtics' resurgence, to be sure.

Kevin Garnett has remained at the top of his game, and Paul Pierce and Ray Allen look as good as they've looked since injuries began derailing them in the first round.

Nevertheless, if it weren't for Rondo's ability to carve up Miami's D, the Celtics' offense would be in pretty stagnant shape. Doc Rivers' veterans don't create much opportunities for themselves any longer and rely instead on Rondo's penetration and play-making to set up jump-shots and easy baskets.

It goes without saying that Boston's floor general contributes as much as any point guard to his team's rebounding and defensive efforts. Floor generals like Chris Paul may still set the bar for the position, but few have managed to replicate Rondo's well-rounded domination in these conference finals.

The headlines may be remembering Rondo's foray into this series' war of words, but the Heat are more likely to remember what he's been doing on the floor.

If he keeps doing it, this may finally be the end of the road for the Heat.