The Boston Celtics were never worried, winning Game 5 of the series against the Miami Heat 110-97. The series now moves to Miami for Game 6.
The Celtics stars grasped the urgency of the moment. Marcus Smart finished the game with 23 points and five steals. Jayson Tatum scored twice in the game with 21 points and 11 assists. He also had eight rebounds.
Derrick White also stood out with 24 points. Jaylen Brown followed suit with 21 points and three steals.
“They let us take two [victoires]they better not let us take another,” Brown said in a postgame interview.
The Celtics got off to a flying start with an unanswered 14-point streak in 2:44 of the first quarter that gave them a 23-5 lead. They never looked back afterwards. The Heat also had their worst start to the playoffs, finishing with just 20 points on the board. Jimmy Butler also noted that his team needed to make adjustments. “We have to start the next game better and prevent them from finding their rhythm. The last two games do not represent who we are. We have to win the series, we just have to close the books at home. »
The Celtics want to erase a three game to zero deficit, which has never been done in NBA history for 150 times. With Thursday’s win, they become just the 12th team in NBA history to force a sixth game after such a delay. According to head coach Joe Mazzulla, this performance is a testament to his team’s strength of character.
“It shows that when you are backed up against the wall, you manage to compete at a high level to give yourself a chance. »
The Heat struggled to maintain possession and committed no less than 16 turnovers, a good reason why the Floridians did not lead once during the meeting. Bam Adebayo also collected six of them, almost as many as the number of baskets he made. He finished the game with 16 points.
In Gabe Vincent’s absence, Duncan Robinson stopped 7 of his 10 shots in the game. He had 18 points in the loss. The Celtics also managed to limit Jimmy Butler to just 14 points.
The Heat will get another chance to reach the Finals on Saturday (the game is presented at 8:30 p.m. on the RDS) to find the Denver Nuggets there. Nikola Jokic’s troops dispatched the Los Angeles Lakers in the second semifinal.
