Boston in 7: Celtics Fans Dreaming of Miracle Comeback After Game 5 Win vs. Heat

Boston in 7: Celtics Fans Dreaming of Miracle Comeback After Game 5 Win vs. Heat

Joel Reyes
updated at May 26, 2023 at 7:57 AM
  • The Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat in Game 5 to avoid elimination
  • Derrick White starred for the Celtics in the must-win contest
  • Fans took to social media to celebrate Boston’s second straight win against Miami

The Boston Celtics will live to fight another day.

They avoided elimination yet again on Thursday night, beating the Miami Heat 110-97 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Four players scored at least 20 points for the Celtics, who cut Miami’s series lead to 3-2.

Derrick White, Grant Williams, Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Bam Adebayo
Derrick White and Grant Williams. Images: Nathaniel S. Butler
Source: Getty Images

Derrick White led Boston in the Game 5 romp, scoring 24 points on 8 of 11 shooting. He was red-hot from deep, knocking down six of his eight 3-point attempts.

Marcus Smart was incredible on both ends of the floor, recording 23 points and five steals in Game 5. He shot 7 of 12 from the field, including 4 of 6 from beyond the arc.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown also contributed, each scoring 21 points.

Tatum nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 11 assists and eight rebounds.

Celtics start strong

The Celtics picked up right where they left off in Game 4, outscoring the Heat 35-20 in the first quarter of Game 5.

Miami never threatened after that as the Celtics cruised to an easy win.

Action shifts to South Beach for Game 6, with the Celtics halfway to becoming the first team in NBA history to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series.

Celtics thrive in elimination games

The Celtics will fancy their chances of doing just that as they are unbeaten in elimination games in this year’s playoffs.

They are now 4-0 in such games. The Celtics won two elimination games against the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

It was a disappointing loss for the Heat, who missed the services of the injured Gabe Vincent.

It didn’t help matters for Miami that Jimmy Butler had a sub-par outing. He dropped just 14 points in Game 5, his lowest-scoring game this postseason, per ESPN.

Fans dreaming: 'Boston in 7'

Fans took to social media to celebrate the Celtics’ win.

‘Boston in 7’ went trending on social media, with Celtics fans dreaming of a miracle comeback in this series.

Many mentioned the Red Sox, who overcame a 3-0 series deficit against the Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series.

Celtics looking to make history

Sports Brief recently reported on teams that overcame 3-0 series deficits.

Only NHL and MLB teams have managed to stage these comebacks.

NBA teams that fell behind 0-3 are 0-150 all-time in the series.

Authors
Joel Reyes photo
Joel Reyes
Joel Reyes is a sports editor at Sportsbrief.com with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of the Philippines. He has eight years of work experience in sports writing.
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