FLORIDA – Boston Celtics moved closer to a return trip to the NBA Finals following a 93-80 beating of Miami Heat in Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) at the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida.
Jaylen Brown top-scored with 25 points, while Jayson Tatum flirted with triple-double 22 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.
The Celtics surged to a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Al Horford and Derrick White contributed 16 and 14 markers, respectively, while Robert Williams hauled 10 rebounds to go with six points and three blocks for Boston.
The Celtics haven’t reached the NBA Finals since 2010. They will have a chance to make a return trip to the last dance in Game 6 on Friday (Saturday in the Philippines) at the TD Garden in Boston.
“We’ve got an opportunity to do something with this group that’s special,” said Brown, who drained five three-pointers in the victory. “Let’s not take that for granted.”
Holding to a slim 59-58 advantage midway in the third quarter, the Celtics unloaded a massive 24-2 scoring run behind Brown, Tatum and Horford to establish an 83-60 lead.
Boston were just ahead by 11 entering the payoff period but a 14-2 spurt, highlighted by three outside shots from Brown in a span of two minutes, widened the lead further.
The Heat were making its last push but Brown then sealed matters for the Celtics with a down-the-lane dunk with 5:19 left to maintain the double-digit advantage.
“I think the mental stress and strain we put on some teams with our defense has worked and carried us through the playoffs at times,” Celtics head coach Ime Udoka said.
Bam Adebayo scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Heat, Gabe Vincent added 15, Jimmy Butler had 13 and Duncan Robinson scored 11.
BOX SCORE:
BOSTON 93 — Brown 25, Tatum 22, Horford 16, White 14, R. Williams 6, G. Williams 5, Smart 5, Pritchard 0, Fitts 0, Stauskas 0, Morgan 0, Nesmith 0, Kornet 0.
MIAMI 80 — Adebayo 18, Vincent 15, Butler 13, Robinson 11, Tucker 7, Martin 7, Strus 4, Oladipo 3, Yurtseven 2, Lowry 0, Highsmith 0.
Quarterscores: 17-19; 37-42; 69-58; 93-80./PN
