The Celtics were forced to look themselves in the mirror Wednesday night.
Boston largely was out of sorts in the first half of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals at FTX Arena. The C's were pretty careless with the basketball, their offense was out of sync and their intensity level wasn't where it needed to be. Fortunately for Boston, Miami wasn't much better in the first two quarters and the Heat left the game there for taking at halftime.
With a golden opportunity right in front of them, the Celtics issued a team-wide gut check in the locker room before returning to the court for the second half.
"Essentially, had too many turnovers. We didn't like how we were playing and we were still only down five," Jayson Tatum told reporters, per a video shared by House of Highlights. "Basically, just talked about how much does it mean to us? You know, we know all the plays and things like that. But it's all the 50-50 balls and hustle plays and things like that -- you know, toughness and effort. We talked about playing better, taking care of the ball and just competing 'cause we know what's on the line."
The Celtics looked like a different team in the second half, as they righted most of their wrongs and ultimately secured a 93-80 win. Now, Boston has a chance to win the Eastern Conference and punch its ticket to the NBA Finals on its home court Friday night.
