Boston Celtics pummel Miami Heat to keep NBA title hopes alive

Derrick White of the Boston Celtics dribbles the ball as he is guarded by the Miami Heat's Gabe Vincent. PHOTO: AFP

NEW YORK – The Boston Celtics have belief, as they poured in 16 three-pointers in a dominant 110-97 victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday that kept their National Basketball Association (NBA) championship chase alive.

For the second straight game, the Celtics fended off elimination, cutting the deficit in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals to 3-2 with their triumph in Boston.

Miami will get another chance to close it out when they host Game 6 on Saturday. The Celtics will be trying to take one more step towards becoming the first NBA team to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven play-off series.

“The only thing that can stop us is us,” Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said in an on-court interview.

His coach Joe Mazzulla felt the same, adding that the team have to stay united if they want to advance to the NBA Finals.

“It just says that our backs are against the wall and we’re sticking together and we’re competing at a high level to give ourselves a chance,” he said of the win.

In front of a rapturous, raucous crowd at TD Garden, the Celtics looked every inch the favourites they were before the series started – before the upstart eighth-seeded Heat grabbed the first two games in Boston, then embarrassed the second seeds in Game 3.

Four Celtics starters scored more than 20 points, with Derrick White leading the way with 24 on a night when he made six of eight attempts from three-point range.

“Got some good looks and was able to knock them down, and just kind of rolled with it,” said the guard, who added that the Heat’s defensive focus on Brown and fellow star wing Jayson Tatum gave him more room to operate.

Marcus Smart added 23 and had five steals while Brown and Tatum scored 21 apiece.

More importantly, the energetic Celtics harried the Heat into 16 turnovers that led to 27 Boston points.

They had 17 second-chance points compared to Miami’s seven.

“Tonight we were the tougher playing team,” Brown said. “We set the tone from start to finish.”

Heat talisman Jimmy Butler struggled to get going, scoring eight points in the first half and finishing with 14 – his lowest-scoring game of the play-offs. He sat out most of the fourth quarter.

Duncan Robinson led the Heat with 18 points off the bench. Bam Adebayo scored 16 points but coughed up six turnovers.

Kyle Lowry, starting at point guard after Gabe Vincent was ruled out with a sprained ankle, scored five points with four turnovers.

“We’ve just got to play better,” Butler said.

“They are in a rhythm since the beginning of the game. But we are always going to stay positive, knowing that we can and we will win this series. We’ll just have to close it out at home.”

The Heat, who won the NBA title in 2006, 2012 and 2013, still need only one more win to reach a seventh NBA Finals.

Boston, whose 17 NBA titles are tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in history, last won it all in 2008 and came up short in last season’s championship series against the Golden State Warriors.

The winners of the series will play the Western Conference champions Denver Nuggets, who swept the Lakers in four games to reach the NBA Finals for the first time.

White said the Celtics expect a formidable challenge in Miami on Saturday.

“The crowd is going to be in it. It’s not going to be easy,” he said. “It’s going to take 48 minutes of battling, scratching, clawing and we’ve got to find a way to win.”

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, meanwhile, was unconcerned that two big defeats had demoralised his team.

“Who cares about mood?” he said. “We have a gnarly group. It’s a competitive series. You always expect things to be challenging in the conference Finals.” AFP

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