The Boston Celtics took another step by beating the Miami Heat on Thursday, 110-97, to get closer to the top (-2) in the final series of the NBA Eastern Conference.
Four Celtics players scored double-doubles to add more heat to the cap, in which they started as favorites.
With the victory, the Celtics avoided elimination for the second game in a row and now the series returns to the best of seven games in Miami with the result of the heat (3-2), which can end with a victory on Saturday in the next challenge. series
The second-seeded Celtics avoided a sweep with the previous game. The Heat enter the playoffs as the eighth seed.
The Celtics have now come close to a new 3-0 streak, which no team has made in the playoffs.
TD Garden hasn’t been kind to its hosts at home this season, as they’ve lost five of their last eight games in Boston, while the Heat won all six of their playoff games at home before Tuesday’s first drop. miami
The Tide have now been denied for the second game their first chance to book their ticket to the NBA Finals in four seasons.
But they still have a chance to join the 1998-99 New York Knicks as the only eighth-seeded teams in the league to advance to the NBA Finals.
The Miami quintet is one victory away from fighting for the fourth ring in its history, after those of 2006, 2012 and 2013, in the seventh final.
The last of those finals resulted in the loss of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2020 players, who played behind closed doors in Disney World (Florida) due to the pandemic.
The Celtics led 61-44 at halftime, thanks to Jaylen Brown’s 15-point run.
“The only thing that can stop us is ourselves,” Brown said after the win. “Tonight we were the tougher team players. We set the tone from start to finish.”
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– Celtics good recovery.
Still in the season, the Celtics built successfully from the first half, winning 35-20 with a flurry of 3 pointers, and did not let up until the end.
Confirming the firm’s turnaround in form, all starters except Al Horford scored 20 points or more, with Derrick White leading the pack with 24 points.
Celtics’ offensive leader Jayson Tatum (11 assists and 8 rebounds) contributed 21 points, with Brown adding to the total and M. Smart adding 23 points.
The Celtics are still up against the wall, as a loss will mean elimination in Saturday’s Game 6 against the Tide, but the media has been there on a historic quest.
In fact, in 150 occasions, a team trailing 3-0 has never won a series in seven games.
As for Miami, which regretted the absence of Gabe Vincent, star Jimmy Butler finished with 14 points and center Bam Adebayo with 16.
“It’s better to play,” Pincerna said. “It’s better to start the game, over the starters, make it harder for them. They’re outnumbered from the start of the game.”
Butler added that “we always have to stay positive, knowing that we can and will win this series. We just have to close it out at home.”
meh/cl*
