Dwyane Wade: Heat Have 'No Excuses? After Miami Falls to Boston Celtics

The woes of South Beach continue as the Miami Heat drop their third consecutive game to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Now on the brink of elimination, the Celtics have the Heat right where they want them, and are looking to close out the series and advance to the Finals for third time in five years.

The Celtics, who seemed to overcome every challenge by the Heat, were led by their veteran core, and proved once again that age is just a number in the NBA.

16-year-veteran Kevin Garnett took hold of the reigns early in Game Five and never let go.

He recorded a double-double finishing with 26 points and 11 rebounds.

I just don't keep track of my stats, Garnett said. I look at myself as a defensive player first. I though some of the defensive plays I was able to make fueled me into getting some easy baskets.

Boston head coach Doc Rivers praised Garnett's play and mentioned how he is clearly a major contributor to their success.

He's just amazing, Rivers said. He doesn't have to score. Obviously, we need his scoring. That's important, but he's our life. He just does so many things that don't have numbers to it. A lot of it is coming from his voice.

Despite an impressive, yet shortened comeback made by Miami's Chris Bosh, the transition game is what hurt the Heat the most.

In the first-half alone, Miami accounted for 11 turnovers, many of which occurred during fast-breaks in transition.

We just didn't play intelligent for long stretches of the game, Heat forward Shane Battier suggested.

The Celtics turned on the jets in the third quarter when they went on a 15-1 run and ripped all the confidence away from the Heat.

I asked a lot out of our guys-maybe too much, honestly, at times-and they came through, Rivers said. We just hung around long enough to get to the fourth quarter.

Despite combining for 57 points, LeBron James and Dwayne Wayne will certainly have their hands full in Game Six and will try to avoid elimination and another ring-less year.

It's a tough one to lose, especially at home, Wade said. They have what you call momentum. We haven't won much in that arena, but we won last year to give us confidence we can win. It's not an ideal situation, but we have no excuses. They beat us in our house.

Miami looks to avoid their fourth-straight loss and elimination in Game Six on Thursday night in Boston.