BOSTON — The foul was hard and sudden, and it left Kevin Garnett flat on his back, his lanky frame spread across several feet of green-toned hardwood. He flipped over, put his knuckles to the floor and pressed hard for eight push-ups, the din at TD Garden growing louder with each one.

It was the second quarter, but the Boston Celtics had made their point: down, not out. Prone but still kicking.

Garnett provided the symbolism Friday, then followed through with enough points and rebounds to lead the Celtics to a 101-91 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Miami leads the best-of-seven series 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday in Boston.

Boston dominated the middle quarters, building a 24-point lead and then hanging on through Miami's late rally.

The Heat was down 95-87 with 3:09 to go after making 10 of 15 fourth-quarter shots.

But the Celtics rediscovered their defense down the stretch and held Miami to four points the rest of the way.

Garnett finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Rajon Rondo had 21 points and 10 assists.

"I'm getting crap about my form, but I want people to know it's because it was on my knuckles," Garnett said of his push-ups. "That's old school. My uncle taught me to do push-ups on my knuckles. That's some Army-Navy stuff."

Miami's LeBron James had 34 points.

The Heat made 10 of 20 free throws, compared with 20 of 26 for Boston.

Woolridge dies at 52

Orlando Woolridge, a forward who carved out a reputation over 13 pro seasons as a scoring specialist and one of the original alley-oop artists, died late Thursday at his parents' home in Mansfield, La. He was 52.

Billy Locke, DeSoto Parish chief deputy coroner, said Woolridge died while under hospice care for a chronic heart condition.

Woolridge played for Chicago, the Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Denver, Milwaukee and Detroit, and also coached the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA. He averaged 16.0 points as a pro.

Woolridge, suspended for violating the league's substance-abuse policy in 1987, returned to play until 1994.

Washington State guard Royce Woolridge, a transfer from Kansas, is one of Orlando Woolridge's four children.