Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo drives around Derrick White of the Boston Celtics during the first inning of game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 25, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Beautiful images via AFP)
MIAMI – Miami Heat is affected crushing defeat 110-97 against Boston Celtics in Game 5, took the lead in the Eastern Conference finals with a score of 3-2, but center Bam Adebayo insisted their confidence was unaffected.
Miami took a 3-0 lead in the series before two consecutive losses raised the prospect of an unprecedented comeback for the Celtics.
No team has ever won a best-of-seven play-off series of the seven that were 3-0 down but the Celtics head to Miami for Game Six on Saturday with momentum.
Adebayo, who scored the most points with 16 points while Miami star Jimmy Butler was capped at 14, said the Heat have not been shaken up after consecutive defeats.
“Why do we lose confidence? When we started this journey, no one believed in us. Everyone thought we would be eliminated in the first round. Everyone thought we were going to be eliminated in the second round. And now we are here a game go. For us, we’ve always had confidence and that’s not going to go away,” he said.
Miami seemed to have taken control as they beat Boston 128-102 in game 3, only to lose the next two games.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra also dismissed the impact of an apparent change in dynamics on his team.
“Who cares about the mood? We have a creepy group. I think a lot of it is appreciated. It was a competitive series,” he said.
“You always expect things to be tough during the Conference Finals. One game does not lead to the next. Based on all the experience we’ve had, it shouldn’t matter in the knockout stages. It doesn’t matter if you lose by anything.
“We beat them by anything in Game 3. It didn’t matter. It’s about preparing together and making a great game together. We will play much better on Saturday. That’s all we have to focus on at the moment,” he added.
Playing better will certainly require Butler to look for more opportunities against an already efficient Boston defence.
“Our offense was a bit sporadic. We weren’t able to start our attack, get the ball where we needed to go in positions where you could be active. If we can get Jimmy into his comfort zone and his strength zone more consistently, he’ll be fine,” Spoelstra said.
“We will deal with that… but collectively we have to play more purposefully, stronger and ready to attack, which we are perfectly capable of doing,” he said. .
But the Celtics, having been knocked out twice in front of them, have a new unity that is evident on the pitch.
Jayson Tatum, who scored 21 points, had eight rebounds and 11 assists on Thursday, said: “Game 3, that’s the lowest it can be.
“The good thing about being at such a low level is that you can only play better. It just goes up from there.
“Obviously our defensive intensity, connected defensively, showed in the last two games, and then in attack, I think you just need to take comfort in knowing that we have This uphill battle must be overcome. But I really feel like the boys just took a deep breath.
“In that locker room after Game 3 is the lowest you can get, and to be honest, I think everyone feels comfortable,” he said.
If the Celtics are forced to play Game 7, that match will be held at their home turf on Monday.
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