The Boston Celtics beat Miami Heat in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, 121-108, extending the series for at least one more contest.
Jayson Tatum and his teammates started the game slowly, but had a superb third period in which they outscored the Heat 41-25, taking the lead for the first time in the game and breaking the rivals’ morale.
Celtics had 13 unanswered points in a little bit more than three minutes during the third sequence, and that was the period where Boston created a swing, not letting it go until the end of the event. Brad Stevens’ team would quickly add another short run, to go to a double-digit distance.
After that, the Cs routinely concluded the game, not allowing any surprises from the other side. They would control the rhythm, with the Heat on the other side, looking a bit slow and without any spark to change things on the court.
One of the reasons for that were three-pointers, where Miami made just seven in 36 attempts, which is far lower than they usually do. Also, the Celtics had an advantage on the glass with 50 boards, twelve more than the opponents, and the difference in that aspect was made during the third when Boston had 16 rebounds, and Heat just 5.
Miami’s entire lineup had 10 or more points. Goran Dragic added a team-high 23 buckets, with four boards and assists, hitting one three in seven tries, while Duncan Robinson had three in eleven, for 20 points.
Jimmy Butler was all around the floor, having eight boards and assists each with 17 points, Jae Crowder had 14 and six boards, while Bam Adebayo delivered an offensive performance under his level, 13 buckets. However, the big man had eight rebounds and dimes each. Tyler Herro scored 14 off the bench.
🏀 GAME 5 FINAL SCORE 🏀
Jayson Tatum (31 PTS, 10 REB, 6 AST) and the @celtics use a huge 2nd half to win Game 5 and force a Game 6 Sunday at 7:30pm/et on ESPN! #NBAPlayoffs
Jaylen Brown: 28 PTS, 8 REB
Daniel Theis: 15 PTS, 13 REB
Kemba Walker: 15 PTS, 7 AST pic.twitter.com/XVn3W119iC— NBA (@NBA) September 26, 2020
Duo Tatum-Brown was the most lethal in the Celtics’ crew. Tatum had 31 points with 10 boards and six assists, while Brown added 28 with 8 rebounds. Daniel Theis recorded a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, same as Kemba Walker, who had seven assists.
Marcus Smart had 12 points with 8 boards and dimes apiece and four steals. Gordon Hayward had 10 baskets off the bench. Boston had 29 assists in tonight’s match, playing arguably the best basketball of the entire playoffs. In that third period they looked unstoppable.
Game 6 of this series is this Sunday night at 7:30 pm ET.