Celtics blow out the Heat for a second straight game, forcing Game 6
Boston Celtics blow out the Miami Heat 110-97 for a second consecutive game as they chase NBA history… after FOUR players score over 20 points in Game 5 rout at TD Garden
- Jaylen Brown & Jayson Tatum had 21pts, Marcus Smart: 23 & Derrick White: 24
- Boston has now avoided elimination in back-to-back games ahead of G6 in MIA
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The Miami Heat were obliterated 110-97 by the Boston Celtics in a complete team performance at the raucous TD Garden.
Boston, who had lost five of its last seven home playoff games, were facing yet another elimination game.
Leading 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals, Miami failed to close out the series once again. The Heat will have an opportunity to do so in Game 6 on their home floor Saturday night.
‘They let us get two, so don’t let us get another one,’ Jaylen Brown warned during his postgame interview on TNT.
No franchise in NBA playoff history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit. Only three teams have ever forced a Game 7.
It was all smiles for the Celtics who utterly destroyed Miami in a dominant G5 performance
Marcus Smart had the Boston fans going wild after one of his four 3-pointers. He went 4/6 3pt
Jimmy Butler did not play in the final quarter of the blowout — scoring 14 points on the night
‘Your back’s against the wall, you don’t have a choice,’ Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said postgame.
‘It builds a connection and it builds an opportunity.’
It was a complete team performance from the men in green. Derrick White top scored for the C’s with 24 points.
He was closely followed by fellow starters Marcus Smart (23), Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum (21).
At no point did the Heat lead in Boston and by the end of the first quarter were down 35-20. It didn’t get much better for Miami trailing 61-44 at the half and 90-72 at the end of three.
The beatdown was so severe Erik Spoelstra chose to sit both Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo for the entire fourth quarter.
Jaylen Brown celebrated with the Celtics crowd following the need-to-have-it Game 5
Duncan Robinson led all Heat scorers with 18 points off the bench as Miami head home to FL.
Jayson Tatum was one of four Boston starters to score over 20 points in the 110-97 blowout
‘We just gotta play better, start the games off better,’ Butler said following the loss.
‘But we’re always going to stay positive knowing that we can and will win this series. And we’ll just have to close it out at home.
‘The last two games are not who we are. It just happened to be that way.’
While closing in on creating ultimate history, Boston set a different NBA record at the TD Garden. For the first time in Association history, Boston’s starters combined for 12+ 3-pointers and 12+ steals.
Following the dominant win, the Celtics went 4-0 when facing elimination this postseason — a franchise record.
Duncan Robinson led all Heat scorers with 18 points off the bench. Bam Adebayo (16), Haywood Highsmith (15), Jimmy Butler and Caleb Martin (14) closely followed.
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