MIAMI, FLORIDA – MAY 25: Jason Tatum №0 of the Boston Celtics reacted to the Miami Heat during the fourth quarter in Game Five of the NBA 2022 Eastern Conference Finals Finals at the FTX Arena on May 25, 2022 in Miami, FL. NOTE TO USER: The User expressly acknowledges and agrees that by downloading and / or using this image, the User agrees to the terms of the license agreement with Getty Images. (Photo by Andy Lions / Getty Images)
It wasn’t good, but the Boston Celtics took the lead in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time, and the Miami Heat faced elimination in Game 6 less than 48 hours after another battle of attrition.
No team was able to find the net in the first half, but the Celtics unleashed a 24-2 series in six minutes, covering the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the fourth. The avalanche turned the first game back and forth of the series into a fifth consecutive one-sided victory. Boston’s top-rated defense kept Miami up to 32% shooting from the field and 16% accuracy from a 3-point range in the 93-80 victory, which called for a tie.
Celtics stars Jason Tatum and Jaylan Brown combined for 10 points in 16 shots in the first half, but made all five attempts to start the fourth quarter, including four 3-pointers to extend their lead to 83-60. Brown scored the top 25 points, and Tatum finished one assist after a triple-double (22 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists) to lead Boston in a game since his first appearance in the 2010 finals.
“We’re just playing basketball,” Brown told ESPN after the victory. “It’s the playoffs. One game, you win. The next game, [Jimmy Butler] you can go out and score 40 points, so we just have to be great from game to game. This game counts as just one. We have to be ready for the next one. “
The Celtics, who are 40-4 in franchise history when they lead the series 3-2, host Game 6 on Friday. Boston fans will remember 2012, when the Celtics led 3-2 in the conference finals and lost to Heath.
Both teams shot below 40% of the field and worse than the line for 3 points in the first half. Miami scored 12 points after 10 rolls in Boston and 16 points in nine offensive fights – and led only 42-37 at the break. It was ugly. On the bright side, the series saw its first changes in the lead after the opening quarter of Game 2.
The injuries did not help. Marcus Smart is limping in the arena with a sprained ankle. Robert Williams III began a surgically repaired knee. Tatum weighed his shooting shoulder twice again. Butler is breastfeeding a swollen right knee, and Kyle Lowry is breastfeeding a sprained left hamstring. Tyler Hero has never seen a court with injured groin.
The story continues
Butler, Lowry and Max Strus, who was also in question with a hamstring injury when entering the game and limping to the bench during it, finished 4 against 33 on the field. They are 8 for 60 (13%) in the last two games.
“We are not apologizing for anything,” said Heat coach Eric Spoelstra after his second straight loss. “We are not diverting anything. We are not apologizing for that. We lost the match today. We had a heavy loss in Boston. We are still alive. We have the opportunity to play in front of a great audience [in a potential Game 7 on Sunday] and the opportunity to make a memory that you will remember for a long time. That’s all we’re thinking about right now, and we have a type of warrior who will enroll, prepare, do what it takes to prepare for the next one, and just hug and enjoy this race. “
The Celtics started the third quarter with a series of 8-0 and closed it at 10-0 to double the Heat and lead 69-58 in the fourth quarter. Miami missed 19 of its 23 attempts to score from the field and 13 of its 14 shots with 3 points in the third. Heat could do nothing but Gabe Vincent’s few difficult jumps. Reserves Vincent, Duncan Robinson and Caleb Martin scored 33 of Miami’s 80 points that night.
Boston increased its lead to 23 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Bam Adebayo responded with eight consecutive points for Miami, and Vincent’s triple limited the series to 16-6, which reduced the deficit to 13 with the remaining 4:18. Adebayo (18 points) and Vincent (15 points) were 14 against 27 from the field. Their teammates were 16 against 67.
The heat could not come closer, as four more points from Brown and Tatum left nothing but garbage.
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Ben Rohrbach is a full-time writer for Yahoo Sports. Do you have any advice? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
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