Celtics break out with Game 5 win over Miami

Needless fouls on jump shooters. Careless turnovers. Flat energy. More sleepy coverage, this time of Duncan Robinson. No wonder the Celtics missed 11 of their first 12 shots. Their approach to Game 5 offended the basketball gods.

And then the first half went away like a bad dream, replaced by the Celtics’ best defensive performance of the Eastern Conference finals.

The Celtics have lived to play Game 6 on Sunday thanks to Friday night’s 121-108 win over Miami, fueled not only by 31 points from Jayson Tatum and another 28 from Jaylen Brown, but a 15-point, 13-rebound double-double by Daniel Theis in his best game of the series.

The Celtics, trying to channel the spirit of Denver, have cut Miami’s series edge to 3-2, and are trying to become the second team in the playoff field to come back from a 3-1 deficit.

The Celtics went into the last five minutes with a 109-85 lead and took a hit when Theis fouled Goran Dragic attempting a 3-pointer. The Miami guard hit all three, cutting the Celtics lead to 11 points with 4:45 left.

Tatum missed the next time down, but Theis scored off the rebound and hit the free throw for a 112-98 lead. Dragic fouled out charging into Theis with 4:27 left, and the Celtics drove in a stake when Tatum followed up a Brown drive with a three-point play off the break for a 117-98 lead with 3:16 left.

The Celtics continued to run their offense efficiently, backed up by their inspired play down the other end, and carried a 119-106 lead into the last two minutes.

The Celtics, living up to their pattern in this series in an eerie way, carried a 92-83 lead into the fourth quarter, marking the fifth time in this series that they’ve held a lead in the fourth. Tatum, courtesy of a 17-point third quarter, had 27 points, and the Celtics were defending with twice the energy they displayed in the first half.

A technical foul on Andre Iguodala — shot by Tatum — led to a Brown drive for a 95-85 lead on the ensuing possession.

Brown’s third 3-pointer, with 8:33 left, was good for a 100-89 lead, and the Celtics forward went back to that corner to bury another bomb, this time for a 103-89 lead.

Kemba Walker stole the ball and fed Gordon Hayward off the break for a 14-point edge, and with 6:34 left Hayward drove to hit a five-footer for a 107-91 lead.

Walker picked up his fifth foul, sending Jae Crowder to the line to convert a three-point play, but Marcus Smart answered with 5:36 left with two free throws for a 15-point lead.

An odd, inconsistent first half found the Celtics peering out of a 58-51 hole that could have been much deeper, their 40.4% shooting performance considered. Tatum struggled through his second straight poor first half, though this time at least he scored, like Brown checking in at the half with 10 points. Walker was back to his quiet self, attempting only six shots.

Robinson, the Celtics’ main first-half scourge, had 17 points, to go along with another 14 from Jimmy Butler.

The Celtics, though, came out with an elevated defensive effort and immediately had an impact, including a Theis jumper that cut the Miami lead to 60-57, followed by a game-tying 3-pointer from Smart.

The Celtics, building on a 9-0 run, took their first lead on a Brown transition layup, and went up by four on two Tatum free throws. Brown answered a Dragic 3-pointer with another finish at the rim, followed by a Theis put-back for a 68-63 lead. Tatum hit his second 3 to boost the run to 17-3 for a 71-63 edge.

Miami came out of a timeout with a jumper, but Walker answered with a pull-up, and the Celtics were able to protect their lead with such moments as another Walker 3-pointer and Theis’ block of the Game 4 hero, Tyler Herro.

Tatum’s 3-pointer, fed by a Smart kick-out, was good for an 86-75 lead with 2:12 left in the third, and he drew another foul off a drive the next time down. He hit twice for a 12-point lead and, following a Dragic drive, two more free throws. Smart stole the ball from Dragic and fed Tatum for a transition dunk and a 92-78 lead.

They finished the third with a 92-83 lead.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2GaAPtu