Watch Boston Celtics @ Miami Heat Game 6 live on Sky Sports Arena in the early hours of Monday morning (12:30am)
Saturday 26 September 2020 09:04, UK
Their season saved for at least two more days, Boston coach Brad Stevens offered the most succinct assessment of his Celtics.
"We are prideful," Stevens said.
Celtic Pride. It was on display Friday night - when Jayson Tatum and his team-mates announced very loudly that they are not ready to see the world that exists outside the NBA's restart bubble quite yet.
Tatum had 31 points and 10 rebounds, Jaylen Brown added 28 points and the Celtics shook off a slow first half to top the Miami Heat 121-108 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals and stave off elimination.
"Our deal was to come out and play, come out and compete, give it our best shot and I thought we played pretty well in the second half," Stevens said. "But we are going to have to do it again and again because of the position we are in."
The Heat lead the series 3-2, with Game 6 in the early hours on Monday morning (12:30am), live on Sky Sports Arena.
Daniel Theis had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Celtics, who trailed by 12 early but outscored Miami 41-25 in the third quarter and never looked back. Kemba Walker scored 15 points, Marcus Smart had a 12-point, eight-rebound, eight-assist night and Gordon Hayward scored 10 for the Celtics.
Goran Dragic scored 23 points before fouling out with 4:27 left for Miami, who got 20 from Duncan Robinson.
"It's certainly not going to be easy," Robinson said. "We have got to band together to do difficult things."
Jimmy Butler scored 17, Tyler Herro and Jae Crowder each had 14 and Bam Adebayo 13 for the Heat - who could get nothing to fall from three-point range.
Miami were 7-for-36 from beyond the arc and are now shooting 24.8 per cent from three in their last 13 quarters - after shooting 38.3 per cent from three-point range in the playoffs before that drought.
"Boston played great in that second half," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "They deserved and earned what they got. We understand how tough it is to win in the playoffs. We did not compete hard enough defensively and we paid the price for that. But you do have to credit Boston. They played with great force."
Brown made back-to-back triples in the fourth quarter to turn an eight-point lead into a 103-89 margin with 8:05 left, and the outcome was never in doubt after that. He turned and blew a kiss to the Heat bench after the second of those threes, reminiscent of something Herro did during his 37-point barrage in Game 4.
Game on. Series on.
"It's not going to be perfect," Tatum said. "You just want to give yourself a chance."
"In all sincerity, first time I've seen Celtics basketball in the last few games," Stevens told his team during a time-out.
And it was good enough to ensure that Friday night wouldn't be the last time he'd see Celtics basketball this season.
Speaking on NBA TV after Game 5, former Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy praised the Celtics' performance.
"Don't give me too much credit, because I said this game would go down to the wire and it certainly did not.
"What happened very simply was that, in the second half, the Celtics' defense picked up. It was outstanding: a lot more pressure, deflections, created turnovers, some chances to run. The pace really picked up.
"And when Miami tried to switch to a zone defense, the Celtics got into their offense quickly before the Heat defense could set. A lot of credit to Daniel Theis for running into quick pick-and-rolls.
"Over the course of the game, Boston did a much better job of taking care of the ball. They were averaging 16 turnovers a game in the series before tonight. They held that down which kept Miami out of transition.
"Those three things were the keys to the victory."
Watch Boston Celtics @ Miami Heat Game 6 live on Sky Sports Arena in the early hours of Monday morning (12:30am)
