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Can Sale Break Losing Streak

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BOSTON – In the first week when the Boston Red Sox have the local sports scene to themselves, after the NBA’s Boston Celtics took a disappointing exit in Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, the Sox dropped two games to the visiting Cincinnati Reds.

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That’s not what Boston sports fans had in mind as their baseball team returned from a lengthy road trip.

However, the Sox like what they’ve been getting from SP Chris Sale lately. The left-hander now gets an opportunity to end the team’s three-game losing streak when he starts against the visiting Cincinnati Reds tonight.

Sale, an All-Star every year from 2012 to 2018, has battled injuries during the last three seasons that limited him to 48 1/3 innings on the mound during that stretch, but he has looked like his former self during his past five starts. He went 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA in those five outings, striking out 35 and walking four in 32 1/3 innings.

“I feel like I’m trending in a good direction,” Sale said following his latest start, when he pitched five innings of one-run ball during a 7-2 triumph against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday. “I’ve been around here too long to feel like I’m on top of a mountain and all, and I’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Sale (5-2, 4.72 ERA) had an 11.25 ERA after his first three starts of the season, and he had allowed 25 baserunners in 12 innings. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said the turning point came after Sale tweaked his delivery before he faced the Baltimore Orioles in his fifth start of the season on April 24.

Tonight will mark Sale’s first career appearance against Cincinnati.

“I’m going out there and having fun again — and not throwing every pitch with three years of hate behind it,” Sale told USA Today. “I’m going out there with the attitude that today is a new day. Take it for what it is. Appreciate it, because I sure know it can be taken away.”

Hunter Greene (1-4, 4.18 ERA) will take the mound for the Reds, who have won the first two games of the three-game series and are riding a five-game winning streak.

The 23-year-old right-hander was stellar in his latest outing, when he didn’t allow a hit in six innings to help the Reds defeat the Chicago Cubs 9-0 on Friday. He struck out 11 and walked two.

Greene has made one career start against the Red Sox — one year ago to the day. He took the loss after allowing four runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings as Boston won 7-1. Greene struck out seven and didn’t allow a run in the first three innings of that game, but the Red Sox chased him by scoring four times in the fourth.

The Reds hung on to beat the Red Sox 9-8 on Tuesday, then rallied from a 3-1 deficit to prevail 5-4 on Wednesday.

Cincinnati manager David Bell called the Wednesday win a team effort, but he singled out reliever Buck Farmer, who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to collect his first save of the year.

“Everybody (got) in the game that was available, and Buck Farmer stepping up,” Bell said. “(Closer) Alexis Diaz needed a day off. He’s been pitching a lot. Buck stepped right in and showed what kind of pitcher he was. That was how it ended, but great at-bats throughout the night, good defensive plays (and) Luke Weaver with a nice start.”

–Field Level Media

Sox: Paxton Ran Out of Gas

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Spencer Steer hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning to help the visiting Cincinnati Reds stretch their winning streak to five games by beating the Boston Red Sox 5-4 on Wednesday night.

Steer’s home run, his eighth of the season, came against losing pitcher Josh Winckowski (2-1) and broke a 3-3 tie. Kevin Newman, who singled earlier in the inning, also scored on the home run.

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Newman, Matt McLain and Nick Senzel each had two hits for the Reds. McLain has hit safely in nine consecutive games. Alex Verdugo collected two hits for Boston.

Masataka Yoshida and Enmanuel Valdez each hit a solo home run for the Red Sox, who have lost three in a row.

Ian Gibaut (5-1) earned the win for pitching one scoreless inning of relief. Buck Farmer retired the Red Sox in order in the ninth to collect his first save.

Boston starting pitcher James Paxton went five innings. He held the Reds to one run on four hits, struck out eight and walked one.

The Reds received 5 2/3 innings from starter Luke Weaver, who allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out five with no walks.

After Yoshida’s home run gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the second, Boston doubled its lead when Connor Wong singled and scored on a two-out double by Rafael Devers in the third.

Cincinnati cut its deficit in half in the fifth thanks to a two-out double by Luke Maile that scored Jose Barrero.

Valdez increased Boston’s lead to 3-1 when he hit his fourth home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth, but the Reds pulled within a run again by scoring against reliever Kutter Crawford in the sixth. After walks to Jonathan India and Steer, Senzel singled to drive in India and make it a 3-2 game.

Not Close Enough

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Cincinnati’s Jose Barrero came off the bench to hit a grand slam and starting pitcher Ben Lively pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings to help the Reds pick up a 9-8 road victory over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night.

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Barrero’s home run came against Red Sox reliever Joely Rodriguez and made it 8-0 in the seventh. Barrero wasn’t in Cincinnati’s starting lineup but was inserted in center field when TJ Friedl left the game with hamstring tightness.

Boston made it game with five runs in the ninth. After RBI singles by Raimel Tapia, Rafael Devers and Justin Turner made it 9-6, Masataka Yoshida doubled in a run and Turner scored on a fielder’s choice to pull the Red Sox within a run. But with the would-be tying run on third, Reds closer Alexis Diaz struck out Triston Casas to end the game and collect his 13th save.

Will Benson had three hits and scored three runs for the Reds, who have won five of their last six games.

Before giving up the grand slam to Barrero, Rodriguez walked Stuart Fairchild with the bases loaded in the seventh. That forced home Spencer Steer with Cincinnati’s fourth run.

Boston starting pitcher Brayan Bello (3-3) left the game after throwing 97 pitches in four innings. He gave up a run on five hits, walked two and struck out four.

Cincinnati opened the scoring in the second. Benson scored on Friedl’s fielder’s choice when the Red Sox were unable to turn a double play.

The Reds increased their lead to 2-0 in the fifth when Jonathan India singled and scored on Jake Fraley’s double. A throwing error by shortstop Enrique Hernandez — his second error of the game — allowed Benson to score from second and extended Cincinnati’s lead to 3-0 in the sixth.

After Barrero’s grand slam, Boston pushed across three runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Reese McGuire’s RBI double scored Valdez, Tapia’s triple scored McGuire, and a Devers single drove in Tapia to make it 8-3.

Tyler Stephenson tripled and raced home on Steer’s sacrifice fly to make it a 9-3 game in the eighth and give the Reds a critical final insurance run.

–Field Level Media

What Will Brown Do For You?

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Jalen Brown was the talk of the town.

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Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown owned up to his lackluster performance in the team’s season-ending loss against the Miami Heat on Monday in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Brown finished with 19 points and eight rebounds in the second-seeded Celtics’ 103-84 setback to the eighth-seeded Heat in Boston. However, he made just 8 of 23 shots from the floor — including 1 of 9 from 3-point range — to go along with eight turnovers.

“Just a terrible game. When my team needed me most, like (Jayson Tatum) hurt his ankle, first play of the game, and you could see it like swelling up on him,” Brown said. “He couldn’t move out there. It was tough for him. My team turned to me to make plays and I came up short, I failed. It’s tough. I give credit to Miami, but just a terrible job.”

All eyes now turn to the summer for Brown, who is eligible to sign a supermax contract extension worth $295 million over five years.

Brown, however, said he was just focused on Game 7 and nothing more.

“I expected to win today and move on,” he said. “That’s what my focus was on and that’s my focus has been on. We failed. I failed. It’s hard to think about anything else right now, to be honest. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Brown, 26, recorded career-best averages in points (26.6) and rebounds (6.9) to go along with a personal best-tying 3.5 assists per game.

A two-time All-Star and named to the 2023 All-NBA Second Team, Brown averaged 17.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 470 career games (363 starts). He was selected by the Celtics with the third overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft out of California.

–Field Level Media

One Fifty One and Zero

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BOSTON (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Miami Heat sustained a gut-wrenching, last-second loss on their third attempt to clinch the Eastern Conference finals, tilting momentum strongly in favor of the Boston Celtics.

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However, the Heat, who had to take the play-in route to even reach the playoffs and then upset the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks to fuel their postseason run, found another gear in their seemingly never-ending fountain of resiliency.

Series MVP Jimmy Butler scored 28 points, Caleb Martin added 26 and the Heat became the second No. 8 seed to reach the NBA Finals by posting a convincing 103-84 victory over the host Celtics in Game 7 Monday night.

Miami was wobbling after a 104-103 setback on Saturday that featured Boston’s Derrick White scoring on a putback just as time expired, evening the best-of-seven series.

Yet even the raucous homecourt atmosphere in Boston couldn’t prevent the Heat from reaching the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons.

“That could puncture a team’s spirit,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the Game 6 loss. “But instead, it drove us to more resolve to try to get the job done.”

Bam Adebayo recorded 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as Miami finished the job. Teams that held a 3-0 series lead improved to 151-0 all-time in the NBA playoffs.

Jaylen Brown had 19 points and eight rebounds and White scored 18 points for second-seeded Boston, which was just the fourth team in NBA history to force a Game 7 after losing the first three games.

Jayson Tatum had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, but he sprained his left ankle during the game’s first possession and hobbled throughout the contest.

“That was tough because it kind of impacted me the rest of the night,” Tatum said. “It swelled up. It was frustrating that I was a shell of myself. It was tough to move. It was frustrating, especially happening on the first play.”

The Heat will face the Western Conference champion Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals. Game 1 is Thursday in Denver.

“Nobody’s satisfied. We haven’t done anything,” said Butler, who averaged 24.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.6 steals in the series. “We don’t play just to win the Eastern Conference. We play to win the whole thing.”

The New York Knicks (1999 postseason) were the only other No. 8 seed to reach the NBA Finals.

Meanwhile, the Celtics struggled throughout the do-or-die game.

“I thought we played tight,” Boston guard Malcolm Brogdon said. “When you play that way, it makes you hesitant on both ends of the ball. I thought Miami played the opposite. I thought they played loose.”

The other three teams to force a Game 7 after falling behind 3-0 were the New York Knicks (lost to the Rochester Royals in the 1951 NBA Finals), Denver Nuggets (fell to the Utah Jazz in the 1994 second round) and Portland Trail Blazers (lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2003 first round).

Miami shot 48.8 percent from the field, including 14 of 28 from 3-point range. Duncan Robinson and Gabe Vincent added 10 points apiece. Martin made four treys and collected 10 rebounds and Butler also had seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.

The Celtics connected on 39 percent of their shots and were 9 of 42 (21.4 percent) from behind the arc. Boston went 16 of 77 (20.8 percent) from 3-point range over the final two games of the series.

Brown shot just 8-for-23 from the floor, 1-for-9 from long distance and committed eight turnovers on Monday.

“We failed. I failed,” Brown said. “We let the whole city down.”

Boston trailed 52-41 at halftime, and White kept the Celtics in the contest with 13 third-quarter points.

White put up eight straight points as Boston trimmed a 16-point deficit in half with 8:29 remaining in the third. The Celtics were unable to creep closer than seven, and Martin’s short baseline jumper with 1.5 seconds left gave the Heat a 76-66 lead heading into the final quarter.

Miami started the fourth quarter strong with a 3-pointer from Martin and back-to-back baskets by Butler to push the lead to 17. Later, four straight points by Adebayo increased the advantage to 21 with 6:55 remaining. Miami’s advantage topped out at 23 points.

“We talked about going to get a tough one on the road and we did just that,” Butler said. “But we’re not satisfied. We got four more (wins) to get.”

Boston missed its first 12 3-point attempts as Miami controlled the first half, leading by as many as 17 points.

–Field Level Media

Reds Roll Into Town

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Report The visiting Cincinnati Reds can build on their momentum Tuesday night when they kick off a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.

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The Reds enter the series with four wins in their last five games and are coming off a three-game road sweep of the Chicago Cubs. The Reds outscored the Cubs 25-10.

“Everyone is really proud of how we’re playing, and how hard we’re playing,” Cincinnati manager David Bell said. “I don’t see that changing ever with the guys we have. It’s a good feeling. We’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got a lot left yet to accomplish and ways we have to keep getting better. It’s a good feeling when guys feel this good about how they’re going about it.”

No Cincinnati player is hotter than rookie shortstop Matt McLain, who will carry a seven-game hitting streak into the game. McLain, 23, had four hits in Cincinnati’s 8-5 victory over Chicago on Sunday. He’s 15-for-31 during his seven-game hitting streak.

McLain, a first-round pick in 2021, is batting .380 with two home runs and eight RBIs since making his major league debut on May 15. He was 9-for-15 with two RBIs and scored four runs in the three victories over the Cubs.

“I just try to live in the present and no matter what happens, I’m going to be locked in the next step, next pitch, next ground ball,” McLain said. “I don’t look at my stats that much.”

The Red Sox return home after posting a 4-5 record during a road trip out west. Boston took two of three games at San Diego and Arizona but was swept in a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels.

“We won two (against the Padres), the (series) in Anaheim the first two games we pitched great and we weren’t able to win the games,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “That was the hiccup of the whole trip. … We’ve got to figure out Sundays, that’s the next step.”

The Reds are expected to start right-hander Ben Lively (2-2, 2.65 ERA) on Tuesday night. Lively’s only career start against Boston came in 2017, when he pitched for the Phillies. He allowed three runs on eight hits in seven innings but wasn’t involved in the decision.

Brayan Bello (3-2, 4.08) is Boston’s probable starter. Bello pitched a career-high seven innings in a 4-0 loss to the Angels on Tuesday. He surrendered two runs on six hits and struck out six. It was the only time in his seven starts this season that he didn’t issue any walks.

Bello allowed eight earned runs in his first two starts this season but hasn’t given up more than two runs in any of his five starts since then. He earned the win in his only career start against the Reds, which came last year. He allowed a run on eight hits in five innings of Boston’s 5-3 victory. Bello struck out five and walked two.

Boston’s Rafael Devers went hitless in five at-bats Sunday after missing the previous two games with a calf injury.

–Field Level Media

D-Backs Stifle Red Sox, 4-2

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PHOENIX – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Arizona’s starting pitcher Merrill Kelly struck out a season high-tying 10 batters over 6 1/3 innings and Corbin Carroll belted a two-run homer to lift the host Diamondbacks to a 4-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

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Kelly (6-3) allowed one run on four hits and walked two batters to improve to 5-0 in his last six starts. He also fanned 10 batters over seven innings in the Diamondbacks’ 3-1 win over the Washington Nationals on May 5.

Arizona’s Geraldo Perdomo homered to lead off the second and Josh Rojas added an RBI single as part of a three-run first inning.

Ketel Marte had a pair of singles to extend his career-best on-base streak to 27 games for the Diamondbacks, who snapped a three-game losing skid.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. also had two singles in his first contest after seeing his career-high 17-game hitting streak come to a halt.

Boston’s Justin Turner homered to lead off the eighth inning and Alex Verdugo had an RBI single for the Red Sox, who struck out 15 times en route to losing for the fifth time in their last seven games. Red Sox 3B Rafael Devers went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts in his return to the lineup following a two-game absence due to an ailing calf.

Andrew Chafin relieved Kelly and promptly walked Rob Refsnyder to load the bases in the seventh inning. Verdugo sliced an RBI single to left field to trim Arizona’s lead to 4-1 before Chafin struck out Devers to end the threat.

Kyle Nelson served up Turner’s sixth homer of the season before Jose Ruiz bridged the gap to Miguel Castro, who fanned two batters in the ninth inning to secure his fifth save of the season.

Arizona set the tone early as Carroll followed Marte’s one-out single in the first inning by depositing a 1-1 fastball from Tanner Houck (3-4) over the wall in left-center field. Carroll’s homer was his eighth of the season and third in his last 10 games.

Perdomo gave Arizona a 4-0 lead after sending a 3-1 fastball from Houck over the right-center field wall for his fifth homer of the season.

Houck fell to 0-4 in his last six outings after permitting four runs on six hits in four innings.

The Red Sox returned home to Boston and are idle on Memorial Day.

–Field Level Media

CELTICS FORCE GAME SEVEN

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MIAMI – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Derrick White scored on a tip-in just before the buzzer sounded and the visiting Celtics forced a Game 7 with a solid 104-103 victory over the host Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night.

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After Miami’s Jimmy Butler made three free throws with 3.0 seconds left to give the Heat the lead, Boston’s Marcus Smart had his 3-point attempt go in and out. White moved into position and got the rebound and quickly banked the ball in for a dramatic victory for the Celtics.

Second-seeded Boston has won the past three games to become just the fourth team in NBA history to force a Game 7 after losing the first three games of a playoff series. Game 7 is Monday night in Boston.

No. 8 seed Miami had taken the one-point lead with a 15-4 burst after trailing by 10 with under five minutes remaining. Butler scored 13 of the Heat’s points during the rally.

Boston’s Jayson Tatum scored 31 points, with 12 rebounds and five assists and Jaylen Brown added 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics. Smart scored 21 points, White had 11 and Robert Williams III added 10.

Butler was just 5-of-21 shooting while finishing with 24 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. He had 15 points in the fourth quarter. Caleb Martin recorded 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Heat.

The Celtics are 5-0 in elimination games this postseason. They barely looked interested in continuing the series while being whipped 128-102 in Game 3 before staging the impressive recovery.

Miami’s Gabe Vincent had 15 points, Duncan Robinson added 13, Bam Adebayo contributed 11 points and 13 rebounds and Max Strus had 10 points.

Smart split two free throws with 16.9 seconds remaining to give Boston a two-point lead. Butler was looking for the last shot and was fouled by Al Horford with three seconds left. The call was reviewed, and Butler was ruled to be behind the 3-point line and was granted three free throws and he made them all.

White drained a 3-pointer and Smart converted a three-point play to give Boston a 10 point – 98-88 advantage – with 4:56 remaining in the game.

The Celtics shot 43.6 percent from the field and were a shaky 7 of 35 from 3-point range.

Miami shot just 35.5 percent, but made 14 of 30 shot attempts from behind the arc.

CELTICS BEAT HEAT; WHITE OUT-STANDING WITH MIRACLE PUT-BACK

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MIAMI – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Celtics were three seconds away from being eliminated in the Eastern Conference finals when Celtics guard Derrick White inbounded the ball to Marcus Smart.

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Instead of being a spectator, White darted toward the left corner and with no Miami Heat players around him, headed toward the basket as Smart’s shot went in and out. His instincts put him in perfect position to score on a tip-in just before the buzzer sounded as Boston scored an unlikely 104-103 victory.

“It doesn’t do no good to stand in the corner there whether he makes it or not,” White said. “So I was just crashing the glass and it came right to me.”

White’s dramatic basket gave second-seeded Boston its third straight victory to become just the fourth team in NBA history to force a Game 7 after losing the first three games of a playoff series.

The victory came after Boston blew a 10-point lead with under five minutes remaining. But White’s heroics earned the Celtics a home game against the Heat on Monday as the club improved to 5-0 in elimination games this postseason.

“I’m just happy we won,” White said. “Whatever it takes. Our backs are against the wall. I’m just happy we won.”

The decisive hoop came after Jimmy Butler made three throws with 3.0 seconds left to give the Heat a one-point edge.

Boston’s Jayson Tatum scored 31 points, with 12 rebounds and five assists and teammate Jaylen Brown added 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics. Smart scored 21 points, White had 11 and Robert Williams III added 10.

Butler experienced a horrendous 5-of-21 shooting night but scored 15 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter.

Butler scored 13 of his points during the 15-4 burst that put Miami in the lead. Butler was looking for the last shot and was fouled by Al Horford with three seconds left. The call was reviewed, and Butler was ruled to be behind the 3-point line and was granted three free throws and he made them all.

Then White made the winning basket and the celebration that Heat fans were expecting never happened.

“That’s the only place it could have bounced,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said of the outcome. “I thought we had a lot of things covered on that play. But sometimes things don’t break your way. I don’t think there are any regrets on that. This is the way this season has been. This is one hell of a series.”

Butler knew where to place the blame.

“Everything that happened tonight — if I don’t go 5-for-21 and turn the ball over (twice), it’s a different story,” Butler said. “I’d have a different hat on up here and we’d be going to the (NBA) Finals.”

Butler also had 11 rebounds and eight assists. Caleb Martin recorded 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Heat.

Miami’s Gabe Vincent had 15 points, Duncan Robinson added 13, Bam Adebayo contributed 11 points and 13 rebounds and Max Strus had 10 points.

Boston barely looked interested in continuing the series while being whipped 128-102 in Game 3 before staging the impressive recovery.

White drained a 3-pointer and Smart converted a three-point play to give Boston a 98-88 advantage with 4:56 remaining before Miami staged the comeback.

White then became a “flash of lightning,” as Brown put it, to provide an electrical finish.

“That was incredible,” Tatum said. “… That felt like the longest 10 seconds ever waiting for confirmation if he made it or not. I’m still like in disbelief.”

Boston’s Malcolm Brogdon (right forearm strain) sat out the contest.

The Celtics shot 43.6 percent from the field and were a shaky 7 of 35 from 3-point range.

Miami shot just 35.5 percent, but made 14 of 30 shot attempts from behind the arc.

Tatum scored 16 of his 25 first-half points in the second quarter to help the Celtics hold a 57-53 halftime lead. Boston led 79-72 entering the fourth.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Look to Even Series at Miami

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MIAMI – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – After losing the first three games of the Eastern Conference finals, the Boston Celtics didn’t look like a team ready to flash some dominance.

But after winning the past two games by an average of 15 points, the Celtics are very much alive. They will seek to tie the best-of-seven series at three victories apiece with the Heat on Saturday when the teams play Game 6 in Miami.

No NBA team has overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a series but Boston is now halfway there after staving off elimination for the third and fourth times this postseason. The Celtics also recorded two such wins against the Philadelphia 76ers in the conference semifinals.

“Our back has been against the wall,” Boston standout Jaylen Brown said after Thursday’s 110-97 home win. “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. 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.”

The Celtics never trailed and led by as many as 24 points in Thursday’s game. Two nights earlier, they led by as many as 18 during a 116-99 road win.

The stellar play comes after Boston appeared ready to start the offseason after it was whipped 128-102 in Game 3.

“Game 3, that was as low as you can be,” Celtics star Jayson Tatum said. “The good part about being that low is you only can play better. It’s only up from there.

“It kind of gave us a sense of just like everybody is counting us out. We’re supposed to win. We’re supposed to be done, and I think we started to play a little bit more free and relaxed.”

Suddenly, the pressure is on the Heat.

The thought of possibly playing a Game 7 in Boston in a winner-take-all affair isn’t appealing.

And that makes Saturday’s contest feel like a must-win for both teams.

Yet Miami star Jimmy Butler is downplaying his team’s recent issues.

“We’ve just got to play better,” Butler said. “… We are always going to stay positive, knowing that we can and we will win this series. We’ll just have to close it out at home.”

Butler scored a series-low 14 points and has failed to reach 20 in two of the past three games.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra befuddled Joe Mazzulla over the first three games but it was the first-year Celtics coach pushing all the right buttons over the past two games.

“One game doesn’t lead to the next game,” Spoelstra said. “It just doesn’t matter. It’s about collectively preparing and putting together a great game. We’ll play much better on Saturday. That’s all we just have to focus on right now.”

Mazzulla didn’t have any profound explanation for the turnaround.

“It just says that our backs are against the wall and we’re sticking together and we’re competing at a high level to give ourselves a chance,” Mazzulla said.

Heat center Bam Adebayo made it clear that his club’s confidence remains high.

“When we started this journey, nobody believed in us,” Adebayo said. “Everybody thought we were going to be out in the first round. Everybody thought we were going to be out in the second round. And now we are here one game away.”

Boston had four 20-point scorers in Game 5. Derrick White made six 3-pointers and led the way with 24 points, Marcus Smart scored 23 and Tatum and Brown each scored 21.

Duncan Robinson led Miami with 18 points.

Heat guard Gabe Vincent (ankle) missed Game 5 and his status for Saturday hasn’t yet been firmed up.

–Field Level Media