BBNBA: Celtics continue to avoid elimination, down Adebayo, Heat in Game 5
In the 75-plus years that the NBA has existed, no team has ever successfully overcome a 3-0 series deficit to win in seven games — a record of 0-150. But if there were ever a scenario where it could finally happen, it would be these Eastern Conference Finals.
On Thursday night, the two-seeded Boston Celtics won its second straight game against the eighth-seeded Miami Heat by a score of 110-97, trimming the latter’s series lead down to just 3-2. Miami was clearly the better team in the first three contests of this series, but it took the possibility of an unprecedented comeback for Boston to finally wake up — and wake up they did.
Behind 16 made three-pointers (after pouring in 18 of them in Game 4), the Celtics saw four players break the 20-point threshold and took a 15-point first-quarter lead. At the halftime break, Boston led by 17 before cruising down the stretch to the 13-point Game 5 victory. The Celtics were also down 3-2 in the previous series to the Philadelphia 76ers before winning the last two to advance.
“It just says that our backs are against the wall and we’re sticking together and we’re competing at a high level to give ourselves a chance,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said postgame.
Derrick White led the way for Boston with 24 points on six made triples, Marcus Smart added 23 points and five steals, while All-Star wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both chipped in 21 points apiece.
On the flip side of all this, Miami is looking to become just the second-ever No. 8 seed to make the NBA Finals. The only other team to pull this off was the 1998-99 New York Knicks.
But Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra couldn’t get enough production from his stars to make it happen on Thursday. Jimmy Butler finished with just 14 points while one of the playoffs’ biggest surprise performers, Gabe Vincent, was sidelined with an ankle injury he suffered in Game 4. As for one-time Wildcat center Bam Adebayo, he at least looked better than he did in the game prior (which was arguably his worst outing of the postseason).
Adebayo went for 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals on 8-15 shooting in nearly 32 minutes. However, he turned the ball over six times, the most he’s recorded throughout these playoffs. Duncan Robinson led Miami with 18 points. The Heat never once led.
As for some potentially good news regarding Miami, shooting guard Tyler Herro participated in pregame warmups for the first time since breaking his hand and undergoing surgery on April 16. Considering the Heat’s already thin bench, getting Herro back on the court sooner rather than later might almost be a necessity. While it’s only pregame shooting, it was at least a positive sign Herro could be on the verge of making a return.
Hot shooting from Miami and poor shooting from Boston allowed the Heat to take a commanding 3-0 lead early in this series, but the tides have shifted completely over the last two. The Heat shot 51.9 percent from the floor and a blistering 47.8 percent from deep in the first three games while the Celtics were at just 45.7 percent overall and 29.2 percent from beyond the arc. Since then? Miami is down to 47.4 percent from the field and 30.9 percent from distance compared to 50.9 percent overall shooting and 40.5 percent from long range for Boston.
Will that trend continue in the Celtics’ favor for two more games in order to make history? Or will the Heat find a way to make history of their own with a monumental upset? We’ll find out on Saturday when Game 6 tips off in Miami at 8:30 p.m. EST on TNT.
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