Boston Celtics dominate the 2nd half to take a 3-2 lead over the Miami Heat

This game just felt like a struggle all night long for the Miami Heat as they lose to the Boston Celtics 93-80 in Game 5 at FTX Arena and are now down 3-2 in a best of seven series.

This game was easily the most competitive of the Eastern Conference Finals with both teams trading leads for the first time in the series. Both teams were locked in defensively and it had the type of feel we were expecting. A grit and grind game that you have to get out of the mud. Erik Spoelstra and the Heat love that type of game and and with a halftime score of 42-37 in favor of Miami, you were feeling okay even with the offense looking bad. Only a few shots need to fall in the second half and we’ll be okay. Well, they didn’t.

The Heat just couldn’t continue that momentum in the second half and were outplayed by the Celtics. It pains me to say it, but their defensive rotations were perfect and they rarely allowed a good look. Ime Udoka has his team clicking on all cylinders defensively and I’ll give him the credit where it’s deserved, but the job that Al Horford (1 STL, 2 BLK) and Robert Williams III (1 STL, 3 BLK) have done in this scheme has been the key. Putting Horford on Bam and Williams on Tucker in the corner makes that outlet pass a non factor and it was proven a couple times this game. William’s had multiple blocks on three point attempts in this game. When Bam sets a pick on any ball handler, Williams is helping on the drive or roll from Bam and cuts off either option including the pass to the corner.

Of course this is where I’m going to say this is where you miss the shot creating of Tyler Herro. He can can operate in the mid range and open things up for others, but it’s hard for me to say that his presence would have changed the outcome of this game. Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry and Max Strus combined to shoot 4-of-33 from the field. That‘s 12% shooting. You can’t win a playoff game when the majority of your starting lineup are unable to put the basketball in the hoop. I don’t think Jimmy is dealing with a serious injury, but I do believe he is starting to get worn down by the effort he needs to put in to get a bucket against this long and skilled defense. As for Lowry and Strus, they had multiple attempts in this game that could be considered wide open (6+ feet of space) and they didn't hit them. The same goes for everyone on the roster and it’s just frustrating to see when they aren’t doing the things that are necessary to get other easy baskets.

For example, there was a moment in the game where Bam Adebayo pushed the ball up on a fast break and was able to get Derrick White switched on to him. He was assertive with posting White up and was given the ball quickly and he used a powerful move to get an easy basket. That was the only time Bam attacked a mismatch. He had 18 points and 10 rebounds, but that truly doesn’t show how passive he played in this game. As you can feel this game slipping away from the Heat you can hear the crown getting louder when Bam touches the ball so he attacks the basket. He’s continuously used as a playmaking hub for the offense to create good three point looks. That didn’t exactly go well for the Heat as they shot 7-of-45 from beyond the arc. Another terrible shooting performance from the best three point shooting percentage team in the regular season.

For the Boston Celtics, this game was also a struggle on the offensive end as they couldn’t generate a lot of great looks early on and Miami was able to force 15 turnovers for the game. However, they figured things out and scored 32 points in the third quarter to blow this game open. Jayson Tatum finished with a dominant 22 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists to get his team one win away from an NBA Final. Jaylen Brown struggled early with four turnovers in the first quarter, but he turned it around and finished with 25 points, four rebounds, a steal and a block. White was the only scoring the Celtics needed off the bench as he came through with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, six assists, two steals and a block. Horford delivered an efficient veteran like performance with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Just an all-around team effort from start to finish and I give them all the credit for winning this game.

Lastly, with the Miami Heat starters, outside of PJ Tucker, giving absolutely nothing for a second game in a row Erik Spoelstra was forced to go to his bench. The duo of Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin were the only ones that looked ready for this game early on and were one of the only reasons the Heat were in control in the first half. There was a rotation change as Duncan Robinson took Dewayne Dedmons minutes to create more spacing. However, Duncan was overall a negative on the floor. He just couldn’t shoot efficiently enough as he went just 4-of-12 from the field and was constantly hunted on the other end. Victor Oladipo was the only other player to play off the bench in this game and his defense was definitely a big factor in the Celtics scoring just 37 points in the first half, but he shot just 1-of-7 and had four turnovers. Not his best performance, but he still provided the team a strong presence on the defensive end.

This game had potential, but quickly turned into a nightmare for the Miami Heat and their fans (me included). It finally felt like the Heat were just outclassed for the first time in this series. All the other losses just felt different and even when the Heat had a chance to get this one in the mud, as we like to say, the Celtics took it. Now the Miami Heat have the daunting task of heading to TD Garden for a must win Game 6 as they will be facing elimination for the first time in these playoffs. Can these players step up to the challenge and force a Game 7 back in Miami? We’ll find out on Friday, whether we like it or not.