The Celtics have fought to send the series back to Miami. The Heat haven’t lost 3 in a row since March. Who has the advantage?
BOSTON (AP) — The Miami Heat insist they are as confident as ever, even after missing two chances to eliminate the Boston Celtics.
They’ll get the next one, said Jimmy Butler.
“It’s going to be all smiles,” Butler said after the Celtics won 110-97 on Thursday night to cut the Heat’s series lead to 3-2. “We’re going to keep it very, very, very consistent, knowing that we’re going to win the next game.”
The Heat head home with yet two more chances to clinch a spot in the NBA Finals. But it would be wise to do it in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday night (8:30 a.m. ET, TNT) and avoid a decisive Game 7 in Boston.
The eighth-seeded Heat won the first three games, two of them in Boston, to bring the defending Eastern Conference champions to the brink of elimination. None of the 150 other teams in NBA history that fell behind 3-0 have come back to win a best-of-seven playoff series.
But the Celtics won Game 4 in Miami by 17 points and then led by as many as 24 in a Game 5 victory that was Boston’s first home win over the Heat all season. Center Bam Adebayo, who had 16 points and eight rebounds but also six turnovers, said Miami was still confident he could finish off the Celtics.
“Why would we lose trust?” he said. “When we started this journey, nobody believed in us. Everyone thought we were going to be out in the first round. Everyone thought we were going to be out in the second round. And now we’re here, one game away. For us, we’ve always had confidence, and that’s not going away.”
Butler, Miami’s emotional leader and the star of Games 1 and 2, scored just 14 points Thursday night, his fewest total in the postseason this year, and went 1-for-5 in the first quarter when Boston opened up a 15-point lead. Miami played all but the first five minutes of the game trailing in double digits, only getting within 10 with a minute to go after a meaningless 9-0 run.
“The last two games are not who we are,” Butler said. “We will always stay positive, knowing that we can and will win the series. We just have to close it at home.”
To do so, Miami will have to respond with a beating, just as Boston did after a Game 3 loss that left players openly questioning rookie coach Joe Mazzulla.
Everyone thought we were going to be out in the first round. Everyone thought we were going to be out in the second round. And now we’re here, one game away. For us, we’ve always had confidence, and that’s not going away.”
— Bam Adebayo heat center
When asked about his team’s state of mind, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, “Who cares about the state of mind?”
“We have a twisted group,” he said. “I think a lot of it is overrated. It is a competitive series. You always expect things to be challenging in conference finals. One game does not lead to the next game. … It doesn’t matter if you lose by whatever. We beat them for whatever in Game 3. It just doesn’t matter.”
With Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo sidelined for the entire series and Gabe Vincent joining him on the bench Thursday night due to a sprained ankle, Miami received contributions from their bench, including 15 points from forward Haywood Highsmith, who had not played significant minutes in the first four games. Duncan Robinson had 18 points and nine assists, while Caleb Martin had 14 points to help the Heat’s bench outscore Boston 53-15.
Spoelstra’s message to the team: “Really don’t forget this,” Robinson said. “Shift our focus to Saturday. Let this hurt you, just do what it takes to keep that edge we played to the best of our ability.”
Turnovers have plagued the Heat in their Game 4 and 5 losses to the Celtics.
