Jayson Tatum scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half, helping the Celtics fight back from a 12-point deficit with a dominant second half to force a Game 6 on Sunday night. Jaylen Brown added 26 points and eight rebounds while Daniel Theis posted his first double-double of the series (15 points, 13 rebounds) in what was easily his best game of the postseason.
The Celtics outscored the Heat 70-50 in the second half, using a 20-3 run to start the third quarter, setting the tone for a terrific performance that was sustained all half by Boston. Six different players scored in double figures for the C’s while Miami struggled with their 3-point shot all night long, going 7-of-36 from beyond the arc which led to a quiet second half offensively for them beyond Goran Dragic (team-high 23 points).
The Celtics and Heat will face off in Game 6 on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m.
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The Celtics started playing like their season was on the line in the third quarter, fueled once again by Jayson Tatum, opening the quarter with a 20-3 run before going on to score 41 points.
—Tatum scored 17 points n the frame and was aggressive with his drives which helped lead to eight free throw attempts.
—C’s shot 54 percent from the field and posted 12 free throw attempts, surprising their entire first half total.
—Heat saw some regression defensively with their 3-point shooting (2-of-10) with Jae Crowder being the chief offender
—Dragic kept the Heat in the game by himself with a 13 points quarter but his teammates shot just 5-of-14 from the field.
TURNING POINT
The Heat went on a 12-0 run midway through the first quarter after the Celtics got off to a 1-of-11 shooting start. The outbreak forced the C’s to play catch up for the entire first half after Miami broke open a 5-5 game with the outburst.
TWO UP
Jaylen Brown: The only Celtic who showed some useful aggression early. He made four of his first nine shots, including a pair from 3-point range to become the first Celtic to hit double figures.
Enes Kanter: The big man provided an offensive boost for the Celtics off the bench, knocking dow his first four shots to post eight points in eight first half minutes.
TWO DOWN
Marcus Smart: Poor decision making on offense turned some potential fast break baskets for the C’s into Heat buckets the other ways.
First quarter offense: The Celtics shot 25 percent from the field and 3-point range in the opening 12 minutes, low lighted by an 1-of-11 start to the night shooting. The offense was over reliant on 3s that weren’t falling and didn’t get going until Kanter got into the game.
TOP PLAY
straight to the hoop ?? pic.twitter.com/J6vdCflHAw
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) September 26, 2020
PG: Kemba Walker
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Jaylen Brown
C: Daniel Theis
G: Duncan Robinson
PF: Jae Crowder
C: Bam Adebayo
- Bam Adebayo appeared to be suffering from some kind of wrist injury in the closing minutes of Game 5 but Erik Spoelstra says he will be good to go.
- With the Heat playing no true backup center behind Bam Adebayo in Game 4, the Celtics could elect to shorten their bench and play small outside of Daniel Theis as a counter in Game 5.
- The Celtics have rallied back from a 3-1 deficit twice in franchise history but teams down 3-1 are 13-244 all-time in the NBA playoffs.
- Five tweaks for the Celtics to consider to keep season alive against Heat
- Robb: Celtics offense needs a shift in its hierarchy to rally against Heat