Nikola Jokic's brother celebrates Denver's NBA Finals qualification with Michael Malone (from Twitter)
150 teams once led 0-3 in an NBA playoff series and all without exception have moved on to the next level — but will that historic streak be broken in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals? Judging by the last two games of the series, Boston certainly believes it's possible. The Celtics cut the series to 3-2 Thursday night after beating Miami 97-110 in Game 5, and suddenly the series that seemed headed for Heat chess and perhaps even a resounding sweep looks completely open.
Something good happens to the Celtics when they have their backs against the wall and face impeachment. Tonight they recorded their fourth win in a game of be or don't in the current playoffs, once again showing impressive composure and getting team elation again at the moment of truth.
Bounce. Tatum (Photo by Getty Images, Maddie Meyer)
Failed to generate momentum. Jimmy Butler (Photo: GettyImages)
The Heat were informed before the game that Gabe Vincent, one of the standouts of the current series, would be absent due to injury, making Erik Spoelstra's blanket even shorter. That gave a boost to the Celtics, who started the game by storm, pounced on their opponent and sent a message that reverberated until the end of the game. Boston quickly opened a double-digit lead, finished the first quarter with a 15-point lead, and went into the break at plus-17, sweeping the court and displaying a fluent offense with a high three-point percentage.
Every time the Heat tried to get closer, another three-pointer came along that stopped their momentum. The margin never trailed by 16 throughout the second half and peaked at 24 until Erik Spoelstra raised a white flag and finished the game with players from the edge of the bench, perhaps trying to earn one of them for Game 6.
The key number for the Celtics was again 40. In games where the Celtics are shooting more than 40 percent from three this season, they almost always win (just two losses). Tonight, they shot 16 threes on 41% shooting, with Derek White (24 points and 6 threes) and Marcus Smart (23 and 4 threes) alone shooting more from beyond the arc than Miami as a whole (9 threes). Jayson Tatum had a mature and responsible game, focusing primarily on running the game, finishing with 21 points (8-of-16 from the field), 11 assists and 8 rebounds, while Jaylen Brown scored the same number of points, and the Celtics cruised to victory despite only 15 points from their bench players.
Total control of pace. Jaylen Brown (Photo by Getty Images, Maddie Meyer)
Another sacrifice game. Marcus Smart (Photo by Getty Images, Maddie Meyer)
Compared to the Celtics, Miami did get enough contributions from the bench players, but it was the stars who were limited. Duncan Robinson led all scorers with 18 points along with 9 assists, Haywood Highsmith chipped in with 15 and Caleb Martin contributed 14, but Jimmy Butler was limited to just 14 as well (5-of-10 from the field, 5 rebounds and 5 assists), and Bam Adebayo had 15 and 8 rebounds. Kyle Lowry finished with just 5 points and Max Strus only 3.
In two days, the series will return to Miami, which will host the sixth game of the series on the night between Saturday and Sunday and try to decide it on the third attempt. Boston, for its part, will try to become only the 4th team in history to come back from 3-0 down To 3-3, perhaps on the way to doing the unbelievable and completing an unprecedented turnaround.
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- Boston Celtics
- Miami Heat