Postseason

Marc D'Amico

Things got away from the Celtics in a hurry at the start of Monday’s fourth quarter. It took only 70 seconds for their 10-point deficit entering the frame to swell to 17. Miami’s top two players of the series, Caleb Martin and Jimmy Butler, accounted for the entire 7-0 run.

Martin opened it up with a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the arc to push Miami’s lead to 13. The shot came in transition after Martin found himself unguarded thanks to a miscommunication by Boston’s defense. Derrick White, who stopped the ball in transition, seemingly thought that one of his teammates getting back on defense from the other end was going to switch onto Martin. As such, White backed off of him. When no other Boston player stepped up, Martin then stepped right into the 3-pointer and drilled it.

Boston went on to commit consecutive turnovers on its next two possessions that led to another four Miami points, all of which were scored by Butler. He first canned a pullup jumper and then dunked one home after poking away a steal from Jaylen Brown that led to Butler’s uncontested slam at the other end.

That was Miami’s knockout punch. The Celtics never responded from there, as the Heat’s lead remained at 15 or more the rest of the way before the team closed out its 103-84 victory.

Derrick White saved the day with his miraculous tip-in to force Game 7. He nearly saved the day during Game 7 as well, as he was Boston’s only offensive weapon during the second half of Monday’s series finale.

White scored 13 of his 18 points during the second half to give the C’s a fighting chance. He single-handedly sliced Miami’s 16-point lead in half by scoring eight straight points from the 10:14 mark to the 8:29 mark of the third period. He then cut Boston’s deficit down to seven with a three-point play at the 3:33 mark of the same quarter.

Unfortunately for Boston, no one else on the team could muster up any offense during that second half, which allowed Miami to regain complete control. White was the only Celtics player who scored more than seven points during the second half.

White finished the game with 18 points on 5-for-12 shooting, to go along with two rebounds, one assist and one steal.&nbsp;

- Jimmy Butler (28 points) and Caleb Martin (26 points) led the game in scoring.

- Boston's leading scorer was Jaylen Brown with 19 points, while Derrick White added in 18.

- Boston committed 15 turnovers and shot just 39 percent from the field.

- Jayson Tatum (14 points, 11 rebounds) was the only Celtics player who logged a double-double, while two Heat players, Martin (26 points, 10 rebounds) and Bam Adebayo (12 points, 10 rebounds) did so.

- Miami shot 50 percent from long range (14-for-28).

- The game featured only 35 total bench points.

"That's one of the best locker rooms I've been around."

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Keys to the Game: Heat 103, Celtics 84

Taylor Snow

The Boston Celtics were placed into several adverse situations throughout Game 6 Saturday night. But as they have done throughout the second half of the Eastern Conference Finals, they found a way to overcome the odds.

Despite a cold shooting night, despite foul trouble for one of their stars, despite missing their sixth man, and despite trailing with less than a second remaining, the Celtics still found a way to achieve the improbable with a 104-103 win in Miami courtesy of a Derrick White game-winning buzzer-beater.

And now they are on the verge of achieving what was once thought to be impossible, as they are just one win away from becoming the first team in NBA history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit.

It was a strange night all around for the Celtics. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were unusually cold from beyond the arc, where they combined to shoot 0-for-12. In fact, most of the team couldn’t make a three, as it shot a season-low 20.0 percent from deep (7-of-35). Marcus Smart (4-of-11) and White (3-of-7) combined for all seven of those makes, by the way.

Yet, the Jays still produced strong offensive performances, combining for 57 points to account for more than half of the team’s scoring production. They both found other ways to put points on the board, as Tatum shot 8-of-14 from inside the arc and a perfect 15-for-15 from the free-throw line, while Brown made 9-of-12 from 2-point range and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.

Another bit of adversity that Brown faced was entering foul trouble early in the second half. He picked up his fourth foul just two minutes into the third quarter, resulting in an early trip to the bench.

Normally, the Celtics could’ve called on Malcolm Brogdon to slide into Brown’s place, but the Sixth Man of the Year was out of commission due to a right forearm strain.

Fortunately, the C’s didn’t lose any ground during the four-plus minutes that Brown spent on the sideline, as their four-point lead remained intact from the time he left the court until the time he checked back in.

Brown scored a quick six points after re-entering the game, guiding Boston on a 9-0 run toward the end of the third frame. As for his foul trouble, he went the final 17-plus minutes without getting whistled again.

The Celtics didn’t make things easy on themselves down the stretch, just as they didn’t make things easy on themselves in the first three games of the series. They were ahead by 10 points with less than four minutes remaining but then allowed Miami to claw its way back on a 15-4 run.

The last three points of that run were scored after Jimmy Butler was fouled on a 3-point shot with 3.0 seconds remaining. With his team down two, Butler calmly stepped to the line and sunk all three free throws to give Miami a 103-102 lead.

The Celtics took a timeout and put the ball in their soon-to-be-hero's hands at midcourt. White delivered the inbound pass to Smart, then darted over to the corner in case of a return pass. When he saw Smart rise up for the game-winning 3-point attempt, White changed direction and crashed the glass. He arrived near the restricted area just as Smart’s game-winning attempt rimmed out, then miraculously grabbed the ball mid-air and laid it in off the glass as time expired.

As stunning of a finish as it was, this Celtics team continues to prove that it can overcome any type of adversity. And it has a 5-0 record in elimination games this postseason to show for it.

“They're just resilient,” said head coach Joe Mazzulla. “I've said it throughout the year, that's one of the best locker rooms I've ever been a part of. It starts with them. They have a togetherness. They have a connectivity. At their hardest times, they stick by each other, and they've done that for a long time.”

This team has always thrived in adverse situations, and Jaylen Brown says that speaks a lot about the team’s collective character.

“Don't measure a man when everything is going well,” he said. “Measure a team or a group or an individual when adversity hits.”

The Celtics overcame one adverse situation after another to grab Game 6 in Miami.

Now, there’s just one obstacle left between them and a trip to the NBA Finals: Game 7 Monday night at TD Garden.

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Celtics Overcome One Obstacle After Another to Force Game 7

The old sports adage says that defense wins championships. If there’s truth in that statement, the Boston Celtics might just be headed toward an 18th&nbsp;banner, because they’re playing their best defense at the most opportune time of the season.

Saturday night’s Game 6 in Miami marked the third consecutive game of the Eastern Conference Finals during which Boston limited the opposing Heat to 103 or fewer points. The Celtics have smothered the Heat with a deadly combination of effort, physicality and teamwork, which has limited Miami to just 99.7 points per game on 43.0 percent shooting from the field over those three contests.

There is no wondering why Boston is now in prime position to pull off the improbable. The answer for the team’s turnaround is simple.

“Defense, defense, defense,” Jaylen Brown said after Game 6. “Our defense kept us in games, and defense is why there's going to be a Game 7.”

The fact that there will be a Game 7 means that Boston’s defense has featured a shocking turnaround in the middle of this series. Through the first three games of the Conference Finals, the Celtics had surrendered an average of 120.7 PPG on 51.9 percent shooting. Miami was getting everything it wanted, and with ease.

Now, the Heat’s offense is at the other end of the spectrum. Miami is putting in legitimate work for nearly every shot it takes, and rarely does the team find easy looks. Such was the case throughout Game 6 as the Heat shot just 31.1 percent from the field through the first three quarters. That level of defense kept the game in Boston’s favor while the Celtics navigated their worst 3-point shooting night of the entire season.

“Yeah,” Jayson Tatum said bluntly, “it was defense that kept us in the game, that allowed us to stay in the game.”

And, from a macro level, it has allowed them to stay in the series.

Even Miami has taken notice of the defensive turnaround for Boston and is now publicly acknowledging it. Well, kind of.

Following Game 6, Bam Adebayo was asked what the Celtics are doing differently at the defensive end of the floor after they limited him to 4-for-16 shooting in the game. His initial response was, “I feel like they’ve been more active.”

Just seconds later, Adebayo drifted away from crediting Boston’s defense, but the toothpaste had already been let out of the tube with his initial, honest answer. He knows full well that the C’s have dialed it up at that end, and that it’s affecting every Heat player who takes the floor.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was much more open when it came to crediting Boston’s defense.&nbsp;&nbsp;He acknowledged following Game 6, “They jammed us up. It looked like at one point, (like) we were in the 80s.”

That right there says a lot about these Celtics. That right there is the greatest compliment Spoelstra could give them.

What was defense all about in the 80s? It was about physicality, effort… and a lot more physicality. Boston has upped the ante in those categories, and in significant fashion.

You know Boston is playing at an extremely high level at that end if it’s conjuring up thoughts of the days when Kevin McHale was clotheslining Kurt Rambis. You know, the days that just so happened to coincide with a trio of Celtics titles.

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Physical 'D' Continues Buoying C's in ECF Comeback

What an absolutely, positively, unpredictably insane ending to Game 6, all capped by a play that could go down in NBA history as the one that ignited history.

Down by two with 3.0 seconds remaining, Marcus Smart caught an inbound pass and fired up a fadeaway 3-pointer that rattled around the rim and popped out. This play wasn’t about him, though. This play was all about the man who passed him the ball.

That man was Derrick White, who, after passing the ball in to Smart, crashed the glass from the near-side corner and tipped the ball in with a tenth of a second to spare to force Game 7 in the most improbable of ways.

The play was downright shocking to everyone who was watching – the Celtics included. Neither the Celtics nor the Heat knew whether or not to celebrate. But after a moment of discussion between the officials, the shot was deemed good and the Boston burst into celebration knowing that it had somehow forced Game 7.

With that Game 7, the Boston Celtics now have a true opportunity to become the first team in league history to ever overcome an 0-3 series deficit. If that happens, this shot by White will be one that will never, ever be forgotten as long as the NBA is still around.

Jaylen Brown said after Game 6 that the Celtics feel “like we’ve been to hell and back.” Brown somehow navigated his own such trip during Game 6 alone.

Brown opened up the contest red-hot from the field, scoring 10 points during the opening quarter on 5-for-6 shooting. Soon, though, he became saddled with foul trouble and picked up his fourth with 9:49 left in the third quarter.

That moment could have taken Brown out of the game. Instead, he found a way to dial in and play foul-free for the remainder of the night while compiling a monster double-double.

Brown finished the contest with 26 points and 10 rebounds, including 13 points and three boards following that fourth foul. This marked his second double-double of the postseason, and he also pitched in three assists and two steals during the victory.

While his gaudy numbers are strong enough to garner all of the attention, his shooting efficiency should also earn praise. Brown shot 9-for-16 from the field. He, along with Miami’s Caleb Martin, were the only starters in the game who shot better than 47 percent from the field.

What a night by Brown. He battled through a very difficult basketball position to help power his team to a Game 7. If he can do the same Monday night, the Celtics might just wind up feeling like they’re heaven.

- Three Celtics scored 21 or more points, with Jayson Tatum scoring a game-high 31, Jaylen Brown scoring 26, and Marcus Smart adding in 21.

- Boston blocked eight shots, including three from Derrick White, and two apiece from Jayson Tatum and Al Horford.

- Tatum (31 points, 12 rebounds) and Brown (26 points, 10 rebounds) each logged double-doubles.

- Jimmy Butler led Miami with 24 points, but he shot just 5-for-21 from the field.

- Boston won despite its worst 3-point shooting game of the season, at 20 percent.

- The Celtics made as many free throws, 29, as Miami attempted.

- Tatum shot a perfect 15-for-15 from the free-throw line, while Butler shot 12-for-14 from the stripe.

- Three Heat players logged double-doubles, including a 21-point, 15-rebound game from Caleb Martin.

"D-White, like a flash of lightning, just came out of nowhere and saved the day."

- Jaylen Brown on Derrick White's game-winner

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Keys to the Game: Celtics 104, Heat 103

BOSTON – Right from the opening tip of Game 5, Marcus Smart let the Miami Heat know that they were about to be in for a long Thursday night at TD Garden.

Smart set the tone on the very first possession, stripping Bam Adebayo’s game-opening drive, diving on the loose ball, and then feeding Jayson Tatum for the game's first points via a fastbreak layup.

That tenacious play kickstarted a 23-7 Celtics run to open the latest chapter of the Eastern Conference Finals. They never looked back as they cruised to a 110-97 win, avoiding elimination for the second straight game.

Smart knew what he was doing, opening the game like that, laying out the blueprint for success for his teammates.

“They understand that, 'OK if he’s going to play like that, I gotta follow,' ” Smart said.

From that point forward, the ball never seemed safe in Miami’s possession. The Celtics wound up collecting 13 steals – their most in a single-game effort in 2023 – with every member of the starting lineup snagging at least one.

Smart, unsurprisingly, led the way with a playoff career-high of five steals to go along with 23 points and a game-best plus/minus of plus-20.

“We picked our spots, we picked our pressure up and that was really it,” Smart said of his team forcing 16 Heat turnovers. “Our mindset changed. We can’t let these guys get comfortable. They’re really good when they’re comfortable and they’re a really good team, so we have to make everything as difficult as possible.”

The C’s, admittedly, made things difficult on themselves early in the series with uncharacteristically lackluster defense. They posted a defensive rating of 124.4 in the first three games, resulting in three straight defeats.

However, in the last two games, their defense has returned to its dominant ways, posting a defensive rating of 108.3. It all started in the second half of Game 4 in Miami and then carried through the entirety of Game 5.

“I think we played 48 minutes,” said Jaylen Brown, one of four Celtics to surpass 20 points in the scoring column and also a collector of three steals. “We played with great intensity on defense, and I think we just set the tone from the jump, and we've got to be able to do that and carry that over into the next game. We have got to expect their best punch next game.”

The next game will be played Saturday night in Miami where the Heat will enter desperation mode, hoping to avoid a return trip to Boston for a potential Game 7.

The Celtics have to be ready for Miami’s counterpunch after winning the last two games by double digits, and they know that this hungry Heat team is capable of delivering. After all, the C’s are just two games removed from a 26-point blowout defeat.

However, the Celtics seem to have turned a page since that troublesome Game 3 effort, and they’ve been playing some of their most connected basketball of the season over the last six quarters with their backs against the wall.

They just need to do it for eight more and they’ll be out of this hole.

“Obviously, we didn't imagine being in this position, being down 3-0, but when adversity hits, you get to see like what a team is really made of,” said Brown, whose team hopes to pull off the first reverse sweep in NBA history. “I mean, it couldn't get no worse than being down 3-0, but we didn't look around, we didn't go in separate directions. We stayed together. We doubled down on what we're good at on defense, and now I think it's a series. We've just got to take it one game at a time and keep playing.”

As we saw in the second half of Game 4 and the first half of Game 5, it all starts with setting the tone on defense.

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Celtics ‘Steal’ Game 5 to Stay Alive

Boston’s starting backcourt is made up of last season’s Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart, and this season’s leading vote getter among All-Defensive Second Team selections, Derrick White. Yet during Thursday night’s Game 5 against Miami, they were together exceptional at the other end of the floor.

Smart and White combined to score 47 points on 15-of-23 shooting to propel the Celtics to a 110-97 victory over the visiting Heat. They scored 19 of the team’s 35 points during a first-quarter barrage, and they seemingly drilled every big shot they took throughout the night while logging the top two scoring totals of the game. White tallied 24 points, while Smart scored 23.

“You need everybody at some point to come up big,” Jayson Tatum said of winning a playoff series, “and Smart and D-White is the reason we won tonight.”

White shot 6-for-8 from long distance and every one of them felt like he landed a haymaker. Three of those makes arrived during the first quarter, the first of which gave Boston a 16-point lead, the second of which pushed the lead back to 14, and the third of which beat the buzzer to make it a 35-20 game heading into the second quarter.

During the second quarter, after Miami had rattled off three straight points to claw back to within 12 at the 2:59 mark, White canned his fourth triple to initiate an 8-0 run for Boston. His fifth and sixth 3s of the night gave the C’s 19-point advantages, first midway through the third period, and then next with 4:10 left in the fourth.

The timeliness of each of those shots cannot go overstated. A miss here or there followed by a 3-pointer from Miami – which had been a staple of the Heat’s offense through the first three games of this series – could have changed the tenor of the game. Instead, White maintained Boston’s momentum time after time.

As Jaylen Brown succinctly put it, “Big-time player, big-time shots tonight. D-White came ready to play.”

As did his backcourt partner, Smart, who wreaked havoc on the Heat at both ends of the floor. Smart was his usual menacing self at the defensive end, where he snatched a playoff career high five steals. But it was his shot-making that pushed the Celtics into unbeatable mode.

Smart was right on White’s heels and shot 7-for-12 from the floor, which included a 4-for-6 effort from long distance. He made two of Boston’s four consecutive 3-pointers during the first quarter that pushed them ahead by 13 points. His third 3-pointer capped that critical, 8-0 run in the second quarter that was initiated by White, and his final 3 made it a 23-point game with 74 seconds left in the third period.

This type of shooting and scoring performance isn’t exactly a regularity for Smart, as that’s not the role he’s asked to play on this team. On this night, however, he was the team’s leading scorer through three quarters with 21 points. Every single one of them felt like a punch to Miami’s gut.

The Celtics know how that feels. Through the early portion of this series, it was Miami’s Caleb Martin, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and Duncan Robinson who were constantly draining clutch 3s. Those shots were demoralizing for Boston.

Thursday night, it was White and Smart - the defensive gurus - who stole that role to crush the Heat’s hopes of a win.

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White, Smart Catch Fire To Fuel C's Offense in Game 5

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The Celtics got the momentum going early and didn’t look back as they forced a Game 6 with a 110-97 victory Thursday night.

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5/25 Putnam Postgame Report: Physical Basketball

The Boston Celtics haven’t exactly been elite this season when it comes to preserving big leads. During Thursday night’s Game 5, however, they couldn’t have been better in that category.

Boston built an early 20-5 lead and never let go of the rope the rest of the night. The Celtics responded at every moment to maintain a double-digit lead through the final buzzer while closing out a 110-97 victory.

The team’s most critical response of the night came at the end of the first half, when this game could have either remained comfortable for Boston, or it could have became dicey. The C’s made sure it was the former.

Boston’s 18-point lead dropped down to 12 following of a timeout at the 2:59 mark of the second quarter. Jimmy Butler converted on a three-point play and Miami seemingly had life. The Celtics needed to close out the quarter strong to maintain their momentum, and that’s exactly what they did.

Derrick White responded on Boston’s next possession with a 3-pointer to bump the lead back up to 15. All told, the Celtics went on to rattle off an 8-0 run overall to push their advantage to 20, their largest of the game to that point, with 1:31 remaining in the half. The only points scored from there on out before the halftime buzzer were two free throws from Jimmy Butler.

That stretch of play was absolutely critical for Boston. It maintained momentum heading into halftime and, in the long run, secured the victory in Game 5.

Instead of dropping 51 points in a do-or-die game, he instead spread the wealth throughout his box score line. It started with his 21 points on 50 percent shooting, and it carried through to his game-high 11 assists, his eight rebounds, and his two steals.

Tatum opened the game with 12 points during the first quarter, including a monster slam dunk, to build a world of momentum for Boston. He finished it by dishing out nine assists over the final three periods.

This was a high-level, all-around performance during which Tatum read the game perfectly. Boston would certainly welcome more of the same during Saturday’s Game 6.

- Four Celtics scored between 21 and 24 points: Derrick White (24), Marcus Smart (23), and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown (21 apiece).

- No Heat player scored more than 18 points, with Duncan Robinson leading the way in that category.

- Robinson also led the Heat with nine assists.

- Boston scored 27 points off of Miami's 16 turnovers.

- The C's shot 50.6 percent from the field and 41 percent from long distance.

- Both teams made 40 field goals, yet the Celtics won by 13.

- Al Horford led the game with 11 rebounds.

- Tatum and Brown each scored 21 points on 50 percent shooting (8-for-16 for Tatum, 9-for-18 for Brown).

- Boston forced Bam Adebayo into a game-high six turnovers.

"It started on defense. We set the intensity, and we came out and played good basketball tonight, and it looked fun out there."