Admit it, there were many times in the first half of tonight's Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Celtics and the Heat that you were screaming at the TV for how badly Boston was playing. In an elimination game from the Disney World bubble, they were completely lifeless in the first quarter as the Heat outscored them 26-18 and things didn't get better at the start of the second quarter as they trailed by as many as 12 points (40-28). Full credit to the C's though who were down 58-51 at halftime but just when everyone started to fully doubt them, they submitted their best frame of the season-starting out on a 20-5 run and outscoring Miami 41-25 (the most points they've scored in a quarter in the playoffs and +16 tied for their best scoring differential in a playoff quarter as well) in the third. From there, they coasted to a 121-108 win which cut Miami's series lead to 3-2. Game 6 is on Sunday night (7:30, ESPN).
It was all about picking up the pace for the Celtics as they continued to get stops against the Heat and turned those into layups, wide open 3-pointers and free throws. No surprise that Jayson Tatum (game-high 31 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists) was in the middle of everything for Boston since his 17 points in the third were a new playoff career-high for him. Jaylen Brown (28 points, 8 rebounds) was also really good and it felt like the first time in weeks that they both played well in the same playoff game. Daniel Theis (15 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks) outplayed Bam Adebayo (13 points, 8 rebounds) so obviously it was his best game of the series thus far. Kemba Walker (15 points, 7 assists) had a mostly quiet performance although Jeff Van Gundy was raving about it for some reason and Marcus Smart (12 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals) was back to his old self-in a good way. Even Boston's much-maligned bench made some things happen: Gordon Hayward scored 10 points and Enes Kanter scored eight points in 10 minutes of action.
Early on when it looked like Boston's season was going down the tube faster than you could say "1-2-3 Cancun," Duncan Robinson (20 points) scored 12 in the first quarter including two drives to the basket which resulted in easy baskets which should never ever happen. Goran Dragic (team-high 23 points) was the only other guy on the Heat to have a solid game but luckily he fouled out in the fourth quarter after he went in for a layup and kneed poor Theis in the junk. Ouch babe. Jimmy Butler was held to 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists while Jae Crowder added 14 points and six rebounds. Game 4 legend Tyler Herro (14 points) thankfully came back down to Earth in a major way.
Boston outscored Miami by 20 points in the second half thanks to some atrocious 3-point shooting by the Heat: 7-of-36 for 19.4%. That set a franchise-low for their worst ever shooting percentage from long distance when they had 30+ attempts. It's foolish to think that the Heat will do anything like that in Game 6 but what is sustainable for the Celtics is their determination on rebounds (50-38 overall and 13-6 on offensive boards) while also tallying more than twice as many steals (7-3) as Miami. Boston also hit five more 3-pointers, two more free throws (25-23), had two more assists (29-27) and committed one less turnover (12-11).
It sounds silly to say it since most were probably picking the Green to win this series coming into it but right now, all the pressure still lies on the Heat. Sitting in the bubble for months, they've had little else to do but watch the Nuggets twice rally from 3-1 deficits which in normal NBA postseasons are a borderline lock to be over. Boston has more talent than Miami and while it is super frustrating that it takes an elimination situation for it to finally come out again, at least we see that it is still there. The Celtics can reach a level that the Heat can't but the key to that remains in their attitudes and desire to play to their strengths (defense, transition, spreading the ball around, etc.). Boston has already beaten Miami more times this postseason than Indiana and Milwaukee combined. Now, they need to focus and try to duplicate that near perfect third quarter and more than acceptable fourth quarter (29-25). We all desperately want a Game 7 in our lives and the only way to get it is for the C's to once again prove that Games 1-2 and 4 vs. the Heat weren't a true reflection of their capabilities.
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