Boston kept its season alive with a 121-108 win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday night. The Celtics put together a huge third quarter and staved off elimination against Miami. Game 6 is Sunday night, where Boston will be trying to tie the series.
Celtics stay alive
Boston stayed alive in the series with Friday night’s win. Jayson Tatum scored 31 points and completed his double-double with 10 rebounds. The Celtics trailed by 12 points early in the game, but outscored the Heat 41-25 in the third quarter and never let Miami back in the game. Jaylen Brown scored 28 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to give Boston a 103-89 lead with 8:05 left in the game. He turned to Miami’s bench and blew a kiss after hitting the second triple. Boston missed 11 of its first 12 shots and committed four turnovers, but dug itself out of the early 17-5 hole.
Tatum’s 31 points paced the Boston offense. He shot 8 of 22 from the field and made 3 of 10 from beyond the arc. Brown shot 12 of 23 and scored 28 points. Center Daniel Theis recorded a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Point guard Kemba Walker scored 15 points and dished out seven assists. Marcus Smart scored 12 points and had a team-high eight dimes. Small forward Gordon Hayward had 10 points on 4 of 9 shooting, but he went 0 of 4 from beyond the arc. He missed the first month of the playoffs with an ankle injury.
Heat struggle to shoot from beyond the arc
Miami’s struggled in Game 5 started with its 3-point shooting. The Heat made just 7 of 36 from beyond the arc, which dropped their shooting percentage to 24.8 percent from beyond the arc over the last 13 quarters. They had made 38.3 percent from deep in the playoffs prior to the recent drought. Miami looked to be well on its way to advancing to the NBA Finals when it jumped out to a 17-5 lead in the first quarter. The Heat had their lead trimmed to 58-51 by halftime and was unable to put together a competitive third quarter. Boston went on a 13-0 run in three minutes to turn a nine-point deficit into a four-point lead.
Point guard Goran Dragic scored 23 points on 8 of 17 shooting before fouling out with just under five minutes to play in the game. He grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists. Shooting guard Duncan Robinson added 20 points, making 7 of 15 from the field. He only made 3 of 11 from beyond the arc. Small forward Jimmy Butler scored 17 points and made 7 of 8 from the charity stripe. Forward Bam Adebayo fell just short of a triple-double. He scored 13 points, dished out eight assists and grabbed eight rebounds. Jae Crowder had 14 points and grabbed six rebounds.
Notable Trends
Miami is:
- 11-3 ATS in its last 14 games
Boston is:
- 2-4 ATS in its last six games vs. Miami
