‘Relaxed’ Boston Celtics look to even series against Miami Heat in Game 6

MIAMI – After losing the first three games of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics did not look like a team ready to flash some dominance.

But after winning the past two games by an average of 15 points, they are very much alive, and will seek to tie the best-of-seven series with the Miami Heat on Saturday (Sunday morning, Singapore time) when the teams play Game 6 in Miami. No NBA team in history have overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a series, but Boston are now halfway there.

“Our back has been against the wall. Obviously, we didn’t imagine being in this position, being down 3-0, but when adversity hits, you get to see like what a team is really made of,” Boston standout Jaylen Brown said after Thursday’s 110-97 home win.

“I mean, it couldn’t get worse than being down 3-0, but we didn’t look around, we didn’t go in separate directions. We stayed together. We doubled down on what we’re good at on defence, and now I think it’s a series.”

The Celtics never trailed and led by as many as 24 points in Thursday’s game. Two nights earlier, they led by as many as 18 during a 116-99 road win. The stellar play comes after Boston were whipped 128-102 in Game 3.

“Game 3, that was as low as you can be,” Celtics star Jayson Tatum said. “The good part about being that low is you only can play better. It’s only up from there.

“It kind of gave us a sense of just like everybody is counting us out. We’re supposed to be done, and I think we started to play a little bit more free and relaxed.

“I really think the guys are just more relaxed now, but knowing we have this uphill battle to overcome. I really feel like we have just taken a deep breath.”

Suddenly, the pressure is on the Heat. The thought of possibly playing a Game 7 in Boston in a winner-take-all affair is not at all appealing.

Yet Miami star Jimmy Butler – who scored a series-low 14 points in Game 5 and has failed to reach 20 in two of the past three games – is downplaying his team’s recent issues.

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

Heat centre Bam Adebayo made it clear that the team’s confidence remains high.

“When we started this journey, nobody believed in us,” he said.

“Everybody thought we were going to be out in the first round, in the second round. And now we are here, one game away. For us, we’ve always had confidence, and that’s not going to go away.”

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was also dismissive of the impact of an apparent change in momentum on his team.

He befuddled Joe Mazzulla over the first three games but was unfazed by the fact that it was the first-year Celtics coach pushing all the right buttons over the past two.

“One game doesn’t lead to the next game,” insisted Spoelstra, who coached the Heat to two NBA titles in 2012 and 2013.

“It just doesn’t matter. It’s about collectively preparing and putting together a great game. We’ll play much better on Saturday. That’s all we just have to focus on right now.”

Mazzulla did not have any profound explanation for the turnaround, except that the team are simply “sticking together”.
REUTERS, AFP