JAYLEN Brown scored 25 points and Jayson Tatum added 22 points and 12 rebounds as the visiting Boston Celtics moved one victory away from the NBA finals by recovering from a lackluster first half to defeat the Miami Heat 93-80 on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila).
Al Horford scored 16 points while Derrick White added 14 as the Celtics picked up the pace after scoring just 37 points over the opening two quarters and took a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
Boston now heads home for Game 6 of the best-of-seven series on Friday (Saturday in Manila) with a chance to earn a spot in the NBA finals for the first time since 2010.
Bam Adebayo produced 18 points and 10 rebounds and Gabe Vincent added 15 points for the Heat, who lost at home for the second time in the series after going 6-0 in Miami during the opening two rounds of the playoffs. Miami star Jimmy Butler had 13 points on 4-of-18 shooting.
The Heat were not much better than the Celtics in the opening half, taking a 42-37 lead to the locker room. It was the first time a game in the series was within five points at the break. Four of the five games in the series have ended in double-digit victories.
Boston took charge in the third quarter, outscoring Miami 32-16. The Celtics opened their first double-digit lead on a Brown turnaround jumper with eight seconds remaining in the third for a 69-58 advantage. — Field Level Media
