The Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association 스포츠토토(NBA) have fought back from the brink again. They’ve won two straight after losing three in a row, raising hopes of a first-ever ‘reverse sweep’. There have been 150 instances in the history of the NBA playoffs where a team has lost its first three games in a row, but only once has an underdog managed to turn the series around.

Boston defeated the Miami Heat 110-97 in Game 5 of the 2022-23 NBA Eastern Conference Finals (best-of-seven) at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, US, on 26 June. Regular-season runner-up Boston, which entered the playoffs as the eighth seed and was on the brink of elimination after dropping Games 1-3 to Miami, took Games 4 and 5 to push the series to a sixth game. Game 6 between the two teams will be played on the 28th at the Casilla Centre in Miami, Florida.

Once again, Boston was outnumbered and outplayed Miami throughout the game, especially from three-point range, where they exploded for 16 shots. Derrick White led the offence with 24 points, including six three-pointers, while Marcus Smart poured in 23 points, including four three-pointers. Ace Jayson Tatum recorded a double-double with 21 points and 11 assists. Jaylen Brown added 21 points as four of Boston’s top five scored at least 20 points.

After jumping out to a comfortable 35-20 lead in the first quarter, Boston never allowed Miami to get closer than that the rest of the way. With the score close to 20 points with 3:20 left in the game, the benches of both teams brought in their starters and prepared for Game 6.

“I never thought we’d lose three in a row and be on the ropes,” Brown said after the game, “but we didn’t take it personally, we didn’t go in different directions. We stuck together as a team.” “We were consistently good in Game 5,” White said, “running well, passing well, creating good opportunities for our shooters.”

Meanwhile, Miami got 18 points and nine assists from Duncan Robinson off the bench and 16 points and eight rebounds from Bam Adebayo, but were held to 14 points by star man Jimmy Butler. The team also committed 16 turnovers. But with a 3-2 series lead, there’s no sense of urgency. “We always stay positive, and we know we can win the series,” Butler said, “and we’re going to make sure we finish it at home (in Game 6).”