The Boston Celtics find themselves one win away from their 22nd NBA Finals appearance in franchise history. They defeated the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals to take a 3-2 lead. The series now shifts back to Boston Friday night as the Celtics will have the advantage of playing in front of their fans at TD Garden as they try and put away the East’s top-seeded team. After one half, the Heat and Celtics have battled back and forth with Miami owning a 48-46 lead over Boston thanks largely in part to the stellar play of Jimmy Butler.
While it’s just a one-game lead for Boston, it has outscored Miami in 15 of the 20 quarters played this series. The Celtics prevailed in Game 5, 93-80, thanks to a dominant second half that was sparked by a 24-12 run to end the third quarter. They seek their first Finals berth since 2010 after going 0-4 in the conference finals since 2012. The Heat, meanwhile, have gone 5-0 in the ECF since 2011, but that streak is in serious jeopardy and they’ll have to find a way to keep their season alive without the services of Tyler Herro as he has been ruled out, once again, with a groin injury.
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