Celtics Wrap: Strong Second Half Propels Boston Past Heat In Game 5

The Boston Celtics came to life in the second half of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals to earn a 93-80 victory over the Miami Heat at FTX Arena on Wednesday night.

With the road win, the Celtics now hold a 3-2 series advantage and are one win away from advancing to the NBA Finals.

Check out full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The third quarter in the NBA playoffs has been kryptonite for the Celtics, but they flipped the script in a big way in Game 5.

The Celtics came out of halftime and were the aggressor, taking it to the Heat and never looking back. Boston made the necessary adjustments too, specifically limiting their turnovers, to surge ahead of the Heat.

Boston outscored Miami, 32-16, in the third quarter, and that momentum only carried over into the fourth quarter where the Celtics made the Heat wilt. The C’s ended up going on a 24-2 run bridging the third and fourth quarters.

The Celtics showed a killer instinct in the second half and it all started with how they came out of the locker rooms following the intermission.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Al Horford was his usual steady self in a big game on the road. When Tatum and Jaylen Brown were struggling to score, Horford carried the load. Horford finished with 16 points to go along with seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

— Jayson Tatum didn’t have close to his best shooting performance — he went 1-for-9 from the floor in the first half — but made an impact in other ways until his shots started falling. Tatum came incredibly close to notching a triple-double, as he tallied 22 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.

— Derrick White kept the Celtics afloat in the first half when they struggling mightily on the offensive end. White netted 11 of his 14 points over the first 24 minutes and shot 6-for-8 from the field.

WAGER WATCH
If anyone placed a bet on who would score the first field goal of the game, it took a while to get an outcome. But Robert Williams, who had +750 odds to net the first basket according to DraftKings Sportsbook, finally broke the ice 2:23 into the contest with a lay-in. A $100 wager on that prop bet would have resulted in a total payout of $850.

UP NEXT
The Celtics can close out the Heat back in Boston on Friday night. Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals will tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET.