Robb: Jaylen Brown's attacking mentality keys Celtics' Game 5 turnaround

Jaylen Brown called the Celtics’ first-half effort in Game 4 flat. At the start of Game 5, instead of a flat Celtic team, we saw a frantic Celtics team, with its desperation coming out in all the worst ways on the court.

A 1-of-12 start from the field with eight of those shot attempts coming from 3-point range produced five points in the opening six minutes. That, combined with four early turnovers, put the Celtics into a 12-point hole midway through the first quarter and potentially on their way to an unceremonious exit from the bubble.

Boston climbed back within eight points by the end of the first frame but the offense didn’t get much better in the first quarter. Just 25 percent shooting from the field loomed large after 12 minutes as did a mere four points in the paint overall. No starter looked to be in a rhythm offensively and that was a scary situation with the season on the line while facing a big deficit. The Celtics were pressing against a team with plenty of firepower.

“We just knew in the first half that we were playing with a lot of energy, but it was kind of all over the place,” Brown said. “And we just had to dial it in. We had the right mindset from the beginning of the game, but it was a little bit all over the place.”

The offense slowly began to wake up in the second quarter, fueled by some timely interior buckets from Enes Kanter (eight points in the second quarter) down low. Brad Stevens veered away from small-ball after an ugly early stint with his best five, going with some double big lineups to give the C’s more of a rim presence after seeing too much perimeter shot chasing early. Boston was still trailing at half but they were at least scoring again (33 second-quarter points).

From there, Boston tried to simplify things even more. The formula for the Celtics winning games in this series has been quite basic. Take care of the ball, find ways to attack inside and avoid over-relying on the 3-ball. With their season on the line, the Celtics got back to the gameplan in the second half of Game 5, erupting for a 70-50 demolition of Miami over the final 24 minutes to run away with a 121-108 victory.

Aggression was the name of the game for the C’s in the comeback and it started with the team’s most efficient player in this series in Brown. The swingman entered Game 5 shooting over 55 percent from the field and 3-point range in this series, yet he ranked fourth on the team in usage behind the likes of Marcus Smart and an up-and-down Kemba Walker.

With the season on the line Brown (18 points, 8/12 FG in second half) and Jayson Tatum (21 of 31 points in the second half) took charge and Brown’s damage came from the inside out, setting the tone for an offensive attack the Heat couldn’t slow down. Brown led the Celtics with 16 points in the paint, leading the way as a parade of Celtics got to the rim and free-throw line over the final three quarters.

When the damage was done, the Celtics scored 56 points in the paint on the night and 52 of those came in the final three quarters while 19 of their 29 free throw attempts came in the second half. Whether it was against Miami’s zone defense or man-to-man, the Celtics just kept coming inside and the Heat struggled to provide any kind of meaningful resistance.

Tatum’s big second half may get more of the headlines but Brown’s efficiency and aggression have been just as important in extending this series. He got a far bigger share of the shot pie in Game 5, taking 23 shot attempts (second-highest total of the postseason), which led him to leading the team in usage. That’s a very good thing for this Celtics team since he’s shooting 55 percent from the field and 51 percent from 3-point range in this series with Game 5 marking his fourth consecutive 50+ percent shooting night.

“I thought he was really good,” Stevens said. “He made those corner 3s there in the fourth. He had great drives, he had a couple great cuts there in the third. I thought he was very good all night.”

“I’m just trying to be aggressive,” Brown said of his offense. “Each and every night, I probably should be more aggressive and picking finer spots of where I can be aggressive is key. Just keep being assertive and I feel like I'll be fine.”

With Daniel Theis (15 points, 13 rebounds) helping to break down the Heat’s 2-3 zone with his midrange shooting in Game 5 from the free-throw line, Brown was free to attack more than ever in transition and on drives as the C’s lived in the paint after the first quarter (48 shot attempts). The Celtics needed to be the more desperate team Friday night and they were after intermission with their attack mentality translating into other areas of the floor. They dominated the glass (28-12), second chance points (13-2) and fast break points (13-0) in the second half against a Heat team that likes to win games with their scoring over defense.

A closer look at the trends that come out of a win like this is pretty promising for the C’s chances of coming back in this series if they can bottle the formula.

Celtics shot attempts in restricted area

Game 1: 21.6% (L)
Game 2: 27.8% (L)
Game 3: 37.6% (W)
Game 4: 26.8% (L)
Game 5: 34.4% (W)

Points in the paint for Celtics
Game 1: 26
Game 2: 46
Game 3: 60
Game 4: 38
Game 5: 56

Game 5 points in the paint by player

Jaylen Brown: 16
Theis: 12
Kanter: 8
Hayward: 8
Tatum: 8
Smart: 2
Wanamaker: 2

Game 5 shot attempts (second half)

Tatum: 13
Brown: 12
Hayward: 6
Theis: 6
Walker: 5
Smart: 4

Early on Game 5, Smart made a few ugly decisions in both transition and the half-court, opting to try to finish baskets himself against tough contests rather than looking for a teammate who has a better track record of scoring down low. Just as the Celtics got going in Game 5 in the second half, it was hard not to notice Smart’s role shift from a shooter to a primary distributor (4 FGA, 7 assists). He ranked sixth on the team in shot attempts, letting the scoring load go to Boston’s young stars instead of trying to do a little too much himself.

With everyone back to their normal offensive roles, the Celtics offense was firing on all cylinders while its defense locked down a Heat team that squandered a chance to put the Celtics away after a slow start. Perhaps more importantly, it was the first time this series where the C’s didn’t fade while facing adversity. They fought through it and now have a chance to do it again in Game 6.

“It was a really long game, things aren’t always going to go your way, but one thing you can control is your ability to play hard,” Walker said. “I thought we did that. We kinda just caught ourselves, settled into the game, started making the right plays at both ends of the floor. Offensively, we just really moved the basketball. We made the right pass and guys took the right shot. It was just a great team effort.”