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The ongoing Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat has been a hard-fought, physical series. Although both teams have left their all on the floor, the Cs found themselves in a win-or-go-home situation on Friday night. Fortunately for Boston, a second-half turnaround saw them force a Game 6 else this NBA news update could've been about their elimination from the NBA Playoffs.
The Miami Heat were clearly the better side in the first two quarters of Game 5 58-51 at the half. That's when Jayson Tatum rose to the occasion for Boston Celtics and scored 18 points just in the third quarter alone. Tatum mentioned during his post-game interview that he wasn't sleeping enough. Speaking to the media later, he explained the reason behind it.
"We were down 3-1. You aren't supposed to feel good down 3-1. I was just anxious to play," said Tatum.
Jayson Tatum finished with 31 points as the Boston Celtics beat Miami Heat 121-108. Tatum is currently leading both teams in scoring with 27 points per game in this series.
NBA News Update: Bam Adebayo not happy with his performance against Boston Celtics
Bam Adebayo has arguably been the Miami Heat's best player in this series. Prior to Game 5, he was averaging 21.5 points and 11 rebounds per game against the Boston Celtics. Yet, Adebayo was rather mediocre on Friday night where he managed only 13 points. His biggest shortcoming was on the defensive end though and he ended the night with a team-worst -15 plus-minus rating.
Adebayo took the blame for Miami Heat's loss in the post-game media availability.
"This game is on me. I played terrible. That can’t happen. I know that. I feel like I let my teammates down,” Adebayo lamented.
NBA News Update: Brad Stevens addresses Enes Kanter's impact against Miami Heat
Enes Kanter hasn't played a lot in the NBA Playoffs due to his defensive limitations, but he's still a scoring threat inside the paint. With the Boston Celtics struggling against Miami Heat in the second quarter, Brad Stevens brought Kanter into the game and the Turk delivered. Stevens addressed his impact after the game.
"I thought Enes Kanter's points in the paint steadied us and gave us a chance going into halftime."
Kanter played 10 minutes and only managed eight points but they were enough to give Boston Celtics the needed momentum to eventually force a turnaround in the second half.
Guess the Lakers players!
