1-2 punch has Heat on ropes
Brown, Tatum lead offense and Miami’s shooters are stifled as Celtics take 3-2 lead. BOSTON 93, MIAMI 80
MIAMI — The Boston Celtics know the formula. They believe their defense, as has been the case time and again in these playoffs, will eventually wear down teams. Hard to argue. Jaylen Brown scored 25 points, Jayson Tatum added 22 and the Celtics are now one win from the NBA Finals. They ran away after halftime to beat the Miami Heat 93-80 on Wednesday night and take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference title series.
“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 coach Ime Udoka said.
Al Horford had 16 points and Derrick White added 14 for the Celtics. Tatum finished with 12 rebounds and nine assists.
Bam Adebayo scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Heat, who shot 32% in the game — after shooting 33% in Boston’s 20point win in Game 4. Gabe Vincent added 15, Jimmy Butler had 13 and Duncan Robinson scored 11 for Miami.
The Heat were seven for 45 from three-point range. They played without the injured Tyler Herro (groin), and several Miami players were questionable entering the day for a variety of ailments.
“We are not going to make any kind of deflection or any kind of excuse,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Boston beat us tonight. And let’s be clear about that. There’s guys that are far from 100% on both sides.”
Game 6 is in Boston on Friday night, where two trophies bearing the names of Celtics legends will be waiting.
The Bob Cousy trophy goes to the East champs, the Larry Bird trophy to the East finals MVP, and the Celtics are one win from hoisting them.
“We’ve got an opportunity to do something with this group that’s special,” Brown said. “Let’s not take that for granted.”