For once, they had arrived on time. But the Miami Heat “fans” left the FTX Arena well before the end of Game 5, leaving their squad bogged down in a cathedral atmosphere resembling a funeral mass on Wednesday night (93-80). The Boston Celtics, executioners of the evening, also wore their black uniform. With this victory, they took control in this Eastern Conference final (3-2).
And yet, at halftime, we were far from considering such a demonstration. In the first two quarters, these ultra-defensive opponents fought a trench warfare. Besides, there were broken jaws on both sides. Tyler Herro unable to play on the Heat side, while Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler worried. For the Celtics, it was especially the ankle of Marcus Smart which bored. But his coach Ime Udoka assured the desk: “It will swell, it will hurt, but it will be able to play”. The tone was set.
A weak 42-37 at halftime
Slow, the start of the game saw the bodies collide with each other or collapse on the boards of a white-hot room. A theme promoted by the T-shirts distributed on the 19,819 seats. She exulted on a tap-dunk from Bam Adebayo (18 points, 10 rebounds) after 6 minutes of play. If we witnessed a rare change in advantage to the score (the 5th in the series), with Miami which passed with two minutes remaining, the scoreboard was only 19-17 on the first bell.
82.2
Like the percentage chance of making the Finals for Boston by leading 3-2 in the series.
At 175 dollars minimum the ticket, it was expensive to pay. And the second quarter repeated the first. “With two ultra-defensive teams that have already faced each other twice, we get this: a cage fight”, noted ESPN analyst Bobby Marks. As a result, the public shunned the double champion Norris Cole for his appearance on the jumbotron, no longer greeted Paul Pogba, and only honored the “superfan” DJ Khaled. The 42-37 halftime, advantage Miami, formalized the lowest point total in the conference final since 2014.
The click of the Celtics at halftime
But in the Celtics locker room, Ime Udoka and his flock found the solution: reduce ball losses (10) and offensive rebounds dropped (9), continue the rest. A path taken with determination during the second half, torturing the locals.
Al Horford (16 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists) started first in transition to score on three opponents, with the fault. Opposite, Adebayo was trying to intimidate his Team USA partner at the Tokyo Games, Jayson Tatum (22 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists), obviously embarrassed on the shoulder, but he responded firmly to this provocation.
After a 360-degree dribble followed by a basket, the back added a mid-distance basket that saw the first double-digit gap (58-69), on a 10-0 Celtics. A shot from Kyle Lowry almost at the buzzer did not reduce the score, illustrating the inefficiency on the champion leader’s series in 2019 with the Raptors (3 games played for 3/16 in shooting, and an incomprehensible 0 point and 0 assist in 25 minutes Wednesday).
Boston had dropped only one offensive rebound, no second chance points, two lost balls and no points in transition over this period. Jimmy Butler seemed stunned, he who chained an air-ball too short and another too long (13 points at 4/18, 6 rebounds and 4 assists). Two new baskets from Tatum caused a cry of amazement to escape from the spans. Jaylen Brown (25 points, 4 rebounds, after 4 turnovers in the first quarter) took over. First with a “Jordanesque” dunk. Then, while the organ of the “Jaws” played in the speakers, by a 3 points very long distance.
“We’re not in the final yet”: Jayson Tatum
Pat Riley and Alonzo Mourning could only offer stoic looks. Philadelphia Sixers pivot Joel Embiid offered him on Twitter: “Miami needs another star”. The supporters, themselves, had seen enough from the middle of the fourth quarter, when the gap rose to 20 points. Proving that the lesson of match 6 of the 2013 finals had not been learned. Without support from their public, the Heat only came back too painfully (93-80, final score).
If Udoka, Brown and Tatum all praised the Celtics’ ability to keep their philosophy, the impact of veterans (Horford, Smart) and the value of Derrick White (14 points, 5 assists off the bench), they wanted to be cautious on Friday’s deadline. “I’m going to tell them not to believe what they’re going to see on TV: we’re not in the final yet “Launched Tatum to his teammates, recalling that they themselves came back from a 3-2 disadvantage in the previous round. But the desire will be there on Friday to try to qualify for the final 12 years after the last – lost to the Lakers, who caught up with them for the highest total of NBA trophies (17) in 2020 then. On their mythical floor. With a much more passionate audience.