Quantcast
Celtics shock Heat in Game 5: 3 things we learned – Metro US

Celtics shock Heat in Game 5: 3 things we learned

Three things we learned in the Celtics 94-90 win over the Heat in Miami Tuesday night:

Time to close

Nobody – NOBODY – thought the Celtics would be one game away from going to the NBA Finals, but sure enough, here they are. It took a double-digit comeback, some clutch shots down the stretch, and ice-in-their-veins free throws to seal the deal in the final seconds. Kevin Garnett finished with a team-high 26 points, Paul Pierce 19 points, and Rajon Rondo 13 assists. Mickael Pietrus was the team’s sixth man in Game 5, finishing with 13 points including two 3-pointers. The C’s now have Miami’s back against the wall, and hope to punch their tickets to Oklahoma City or San Antonio with a win on Thursday night in Boston.

Bosh effect

Chris Bosh didn’t start in Game 5, but he was active and made his presence felt soon after coming off the bench midway through the first quarter. Bosh scored five points in the first, including a nice drive, score, and foul that resulted in a three-point play. Bosh entered the game when it was 13-9 Miami, but by the end of the first quarter Miami had a 24-16 lead. Bosh played just 14:23 minutes in the game, but showed that he’s healthy enough to play more in Game 6 and Game 7 (if necessary).

Big Shots

After such a bad start for Boston, it would be normal to think the C’s would pack it in and hope to win Game 6 to force a Game 7 – but that hasn’t been the makeup of this Celtics team. Instead, they roared back. Pietrus makes you want to pull out your hair one second, but then he totally redeems himself by hitting a 3-pointer the next second. Garnett hit two huge jumpers in the second half, and don’t forget the dunks. And finally, we would be remiss not to mention Pierce’s huge 3-pointer to put the Celtics up by four points with under a minute to go.