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The Miami Heat bench follows the game as they fall behind the Boston Celtics during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) drives to the basket as Miami Heat forward P.J. Tucker defends during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) drives to the basket during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series against the Miami Heat, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) and Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams (12) go after a loose ball 126during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) drives to the basket as he is fouled by Miami Heat guard Kyle Lowry (7) during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Miami Heat guard Duncan Robinson (55) drives to the basket as Boston Celtics centers Robert Williams III (44) and Al Horford (42) defend during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka gestures during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series against the Miami Heat, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra gestures during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series against the Boston Celtics, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) gestures after scoring during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series against the Miami Heat, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Miami Heat guard Max Strus (31) defends Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) is congratulated by his teammates during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series against the Miami Heat, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
MIAMI (AP) — 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.
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 20-point win in Game 4. Gabe Vincent added 15, Jimmy Butler had 13 and Duncan Robinson scored 11 for Miami.
The Heat were 7 for 45 from 3-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 a pair of 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."
This series has seen massive momentum swings — a 44-14 Miami run in Game 1, a 60-21 Boston run in Game 2, a 46-20 Miami run to open Game 3 followed by a 57-33 Boston run in the same game, and a 26-4 spurt by the Celtics to open Game 4.
The Game 5 run was just as big.
The score over a 6 1/2-minute stretch of the second half: Celtics 24, Heat 2. The turnaround was 59-58 Boston to 83-60 Boston.
“In the first half it was tough because we weren't hitting shots and we were turning the ball over," Horford said. “But the key for us was continuing to do what we do defending, and then on offense playing how we play. And eventually we were able to get it going."
Boston outscored Miami 32-16 in the third quarter, holding the Heat to 17% shooting. The margin was only 11 at that point — but a 14-2 spurt was how Boston opened the fourth quarter, Brown capping the flurry by making three 3-pointers in a span of 2 1/2 minutes, and the lead was out to 23.
Brown then sealed matters with a down-the-lane dunk with 5:19 left, the lead was 18 at that point and the countdown was on for Boston.
“We're still lining up," Adebayo said. “We've still got to play these games. We still want to win."
The Celtics haven't reached the NBA Finals since 2010. There have been four East finals trips since then, with two losses to Miami and two to Cleveland. There were also two chances like the one that awaits Friday — Game 6 in 2012 against the Heat and Game 7 in 2018 against the Cavaliers — when the Celtics had a chance to claim the conference title simply by winning a game on their home floor.
They lost both, LeBron James serving as the official thwarter both times, with 45 points to save Miami in the 2012 game and 35 to lift Cleveland in the 2018 clincher.
He won’t be in the Celtics’ way this time.
Miami will need somebody to provide some semblance of an impersonation.
“We know what we're capable of," Butler insisted.
Offense was in short supply in the first half. Miami led 19-17 after one and 42-37 at the break. Tatum was 1 for 9 at intermission, Butler 2 for 8, and the teams combined to shoot 37.8% from the field and 21.6% from 3-point range.
Miami, somehow, got colder to start the second half. The Celtics did not.
The Heat missed their first nine shots from the field after the break, not getting anything to fall until Butler fended off contact and scored on a drive that got Miami within 49-48 with 6:53 left in the third.
But soon, the Celtics had control. Of the game. And the series.
“If you want to break through and punch a ticket to the finals, you’re going to have to do some ridiculously tough stuff,” Spoelstra said.
Celtics: Boston is now 42-7 this season when holding teams to 105 points or less. ... Marcus Smart tested his sprained ankle pregame, declared himself good to go and had only five points but the Celtics outscored the Heat by 13 points in his nearly 24 minutes. ... White and Robert Williams III were a combined 7 for 8 in the first half, while the rest of their teammates were a combined 6 for 26.
Heat: Max Strus was 0 for 9, Kyle Lowry was 0 for 6, and the Heat starting guards are a combined 1 for 28 in their last two games. The 0-for-15 on Wednesday was the worst playoff showing for a starting backcourt since the NBA began tracking starters in 1970. ... It was the third-lowest point total of the season for the Heat (78 vs. Boston on Nov. 4, 79 vs. Philadelphia on May 6).
Game 6 will be the 140th playoff game for Horford. Nobody has been in more postseason contests without appearing in the NBA Finals — something that he and the Celtics could change with one more win over Miami.
It was the 14th time in the last 19 games during these playoffs where the final margin was at least 10 points.
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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A player scored 40-plus points only 66 times in NBA Finals history.
Luka Doncic had 30 points and 14 rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks avoided being swept with a 119-109 victory over Golden State in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals. Dorian Finney-Smith had 23 points and Reggie Bullock had 18 points for Dallas on 6-of-10 shooting after missing all 10 of his shots in Game 3. Stephen Curry had 20 for Golden State. The loss snapped the Warriors’ nine-game winning streak in Western Conference finals games. But they are still firmly in control of this series. Game 5 is Thursday night in California. No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven series.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have brought in Denver Nuggets President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly to take a similar role. Connelly steadily built the Nuggets into a perennial playoff contender behind draft picks such as two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Connelly will be looking to do the same with a Timberwolves team led by Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. The Timberwolves are coming off a 46-win season and their first playoff appearance since 2018. They took the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies to six games before being eliminated.
Jimmy Butler had 47 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and the Miami Heat forced the Eastern Conference finals to a decisive seventh game by beating the Boston Celtics 111-103 on Friday night. Ten years after LeBron James scored 45 points in Boston to help the Heat avoid elimination in Game 6 of the conference finals en route to the first of their back-to-back NBA titles, Butler had 17 points in the fourth quarter to top him and send the series back to Miami. With a victory at home Sunday, the Heat would advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in three years. Jayson Tatum had 30 points and nine rebounds for Boston.
The Golden State Warriors look to clinch the Western Conference finals over the Dallas Mavericks in game four. The teams meet for the eighth time this season. Dallas is 36-16 against the Western Conference, and Golden State is 33-19 against conference opponents.
The Golden State Warriors find themselves in familiar territory after failing to close out a series on the road. For the third straight series, the Warriors lost their first chance to advance while playing on the road but they can make it to their sixth NBA Finals in the past eight years by finishing off the Dallas Mavericks at home in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals on Thursday night. The Warriors managed to rebound after those slipups in the first two rounds against Denver and Memphis and are hoping for a repeat after losing 119-109 at Dallas in Game 4.
KEARNEY — Skylar Wilson, a 6-foot-7, 180-pound forward, will join the University of Nebraska at Kearney basketball team next season, according…
Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors have won nine consecutive games in the Western Conference finals. They can make it an even 10, eliminate Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks and return to the NBA Finals with a victory in Game 4 in Dallas on Tuesday night. The Warriors are trying to get back to the NBA Finals for the first time since five consecutive trips from 2015-19. The Mavericks are playing beyond the first round for the first time since winning their only title in 2011. No NBA team has rallied from 3-0 down in the playoffs.
The Golden State Warriors look to clinch the Western Conference finals over the Dallas Mavericks in game five. The teams meet for the ninth time this season. Golden State is 33-19 against the Western Conference, and Dallas is 36-16 against conference opponents.
The Celtics' confidence is high after seizing a 3-2 Eastern Conference finals lead over top seed Miami. Boston is also mindful of how fast series can change at this point, having rallied from a series deficit to eliminate the Milwaukee Bucks in the semifinal round. Miami has struggled mightily in back-to-back losses, but says it isn't making excuses, even with star Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry struggling to make shots and sparkplug Tyler Herro sidelined the past two games with a groin injury. History is on the Celtics' side. Teams taking a 3-2 lead have gone on to win the series 83.8% of the time.
The Miami Heat bench follows the game as they fall behind the Boston Celtics during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) drives to the basket as Miami Heat forward P.J. Tucker defends during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) drives to the basket during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series against the Miami Heat, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) and Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams (12) go after a loose ball 126during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) drives to the basket as he is fouled by Miami Heat guard Kyle Lowry (7) during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Miami Heat guard Duncan Robinson (55) drives to the basket as Boston Celtics centers Robert Williams III (44) and Al Horford (42) defend during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka gestures during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series against the Miami Heat, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra gestures during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series against the Boston Celtics, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) gestures after scoring during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series against the Miami Heat, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Miami Heat guard Max Strus (31) defends Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) is congratulated by his teammates during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series against the Miami Heat, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Miami.
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