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Nothing happened for the Boston Celtics at first on Friday, they missed 11 of their first 12 shots in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and they were lucky enough to hang out only seven points at halftime, considering all the Miami Heat’s second chance and free-throw opportunities
And then they came alive On the brink of elimination Jayson Tatum bought property in the paint and the free throw line Daniel Theis was all over both sides, tough shots and floats Kemba Walker got launched in the pick-and-roll, Marcus Smart hit a step back 3, Jaylen Brown filled in the gaps and Boston had a massive, life-saving run
Tatum finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the 121-108 win, shooting 8 for 22 but making 12 of his 14 free throw attempts Brown had 28 points and eight tables Walker added 15 points and seven assists, but his plus-21 game record was no accident: Much of the Celtics’ second-half success was based on his entry into the teeth of the Miami defense
Goran Dragic kept the Heat trailing, finishing with 23 points on an 8 for 17 shot, but was eliminated with four and a half minutes remaining Duncan Robinson had 20 points, but 17 of them were in the first half. time Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler had eight points and eight rebounds each, but once Boston started Miami couldn’t put the clamps back
The Heat shot a miserable 7 for 36 from depth, and their offense collapsed as Boston’s rim protection improved The Celtics led by as many as 19
Miami leads series 3-2 Game 6 takes place on Sunday Here are three takeaways from Friday night’s game
After the kickback, coach Brad Stevens told the team that this was the first time they have played Celtics basketball in a few games. Their defense created an offense, their 3s finally fell and the Heat defense felt the pressure
When a reporter asked Stevens about Boston reaching the rim, he said it’s been a priority since training camp started almost exactly a year ago. When a reporter asked him about the challenge of the Miami jump shots, he said the same
“It’s a priority for us not only to stop the ball but then shoot and play with multiple effort and tough shots,” Stevens said “All of this stuff is just a throwback to the game. ‘essential «
Brown said the Celtics needed to attack the basket with intensity even though the Heat’s length may make it seem like there are no lanes Boston did, and the offense seemed to have much more juice
While the Celtics may have seemed more active, Brown attributed the turnaround to an improvement in the way they channeled their activity, not just the amount of it. At halftime, he said, Walker told the team to settle in – Boston wasn’t out flat, it was out tight
Brown said the Celtics « were playing a bit fast, a bit anxious » and once they got under control they shot the ball better, played better defense and « looked like the team we are. we all know and love »
Across five games this streak has been equally competitive and confusing Take Boston’s attack on Miami’s 2-3 zone, for example: the zone clearly upset the Celtics in Game 2, but they scored pretty well against her in the opening match When they managed to get some dribble penetration and rack up points in the paint a few days later it looked like they had solved the problem. But their pace has picked up and gone since then, both between matches and during them
Boston has been fine-tuning his lineups and approach, but throughout this time he’s been using high ball screens and trying to generate dabs of paint The goal of the zone is to play with the Celtics’ system, make their playmakers rushed or undecided and keep Adebayo close to the basket. As encouraging as this win is, this area has always run more often than it has, and there’s no guarantee Boston will be that team again in the next game.
Stevens did all kinds of great things with his rotation – Gordon Hayward at point guard, Grant Williams alongside Enes Kanter in frontcourt – when the Celtics were having trouble Their much-discussed little roster (Walker, Hayward, Brown, Tatum and Theis) had a short stint but didn’t bother the Heat
“They really haven’t played a lot together,” said Stevens “And I think the threat at the edge of the big makes a big difference to our attack for us. We’ll definitely have opportunities to come back to that, but there there isn’t like this obvious answer with big or small I think Miami does a great job of punishing you when you are little, filtering low so you can’t change, stop the screen short, bounce off it And then it’s more difficult to score because Bam doesn’t really lose anything by keeping a little «
Ideally, it would be nice to see this lineup do more racing, but that’s a perfect explanation for the downsides.If the centerless Celtics stop and run, this lineup can be devastating in this series, however , Adebayo is a match issue, so Stevens must be selective
Kanter played 10 minutes, almost entirely in the second quarter As you might expect, it was a balancing act – he helped Boston’s offense kick off, forced Miami back dropping cover and had a huge target on his back at the other end Boston was plus-3 in his minutes which must be considered a success
In the end Stevens went with the guys he fully trusted Brad Wanamaker didn’t play in the second half, and no one beyond the Celtics’ ‘six starters’ fell to the floor in the fourth quarter, even though Walker made a foul about halfway through
It’ll be something to watch out for on Sunday (and maybe beyond), especially considering how better Miami was in the second half until Friday Hayward hit the 30-minute mark. in each of his three games since returning from an ankle injury, and Theis sometimes commits faults too frequent to play heavy minutes Usually this is when the rotations get shorter
Adebayo was disheartened after the loss He said he was a slow step, didn’t anchor the team like he usually does and missed shots he should have taken
« This game is on me » he said « I played terribly And it can’t happen And I know that And I feel like I let my team down »
It’s admirable but questionable, and Butler said accurately it was in the squad as a whole The Heat seemed to let mistakes snowball in the third quarter, and coach Erik Spoesltra suggested that they collectively allowed their cold fire to continue on their defense
The truth is that unless Adebayo makes blunder after blunder – and there hasn’t been a game like this yet – Miami’s defensive struggles will hardly ever be on him alone. a special defenseman, the kind of player who can clean up a ton of mistakes, but it’s not like the Heat are passing the ball to him the whole game like the Utah Jazz do with Rudy Gobert
Adebayo is nearly second to none when it comes to moving on to guards and playing as an assist defender, and Boston is smart enough to try and turn those positives into negatives when he takes on a point guard. perimeter, the Celtics try to move the ball to someone else and take it out of the equation.They are also getting better at recognizing when he’s too impatient with his assist and timing their cuts when he’s at the bottom of the area If I had to rank Heat’s vulnerabilities, however, this stuff would be far from the top of the list
A massive run in the third quarter helped keep our playoffs alive, as JB and JT rolled into Game 5
Want to get a head start on what to expect on Sunday? Our Game 5 post-match show is streaming live right now https: // tco / TCvj7PnFWj
JB on Daniel Theis: « Whenever Theis is awesome it’s great for our team Big cry to Theis »
Jaylen Brown: « We were trying to win the game in the first half We just needed to calm down a bit, and when we did, the blows started to fall »
No one said it would be easy All attention focused on Sunday 7:30 pm We’ll see you here #HEATTwitter! imageTwittercom / jWuqLwkgsT
#MIAvsBOS Finale: Celtics 121 – HEAT 108➡️ Dragic 23 Pts, 4 Rebs & 4 Asts➡️ Robinson 20 Pts & 2 Rebs➡️ Butler 17 Pts, 8 Rebs & 8 Asts➡️ Crowder 14 Pts, 6 Rebs & 3 Asts➡️ Herro 14 Pts & 3 Rebs➡️ Bam 13 Pts, 8 Rebs & 8 Asts picTwittercom / xLOEGFBOYm
Brad Stevens on what got us on fire tonight: « I thought we played with great defensive tenacity, and I think our offense followed suit »
If the Heat are to make a fiery comeback and get their ticket to the final, it sort of has to happen now
Dragic will finish with 23 8-for-17 shooting points, plus four assists He’s also plus-1 in a game Miami loses by 14
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Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Eastern Conference, NBA, Jayson Tatum
World News – GB – Heat vs Celtics Score, takeaways: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown help Boston to force a match 6 against Miami