Jimmy Butler shared his confidence on the Miami Heat closing out the series vs the Boston Celtics and advancing to the NBA Finals.
“We’re always going to stay positive, knowing that we can and we will win the series,” the superstar guard/forward said afterwards. “We just have to close it out at home.”
Jimmy Butler had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists in Game 5, but sat out the final 9:47 of the game. It was Butler’s lowest-scoring game of the playoffs.
The Boston Celtics dominated the Miami Heat in Game 5 (97-110) and extended the Eastern Conference Finals series (3-2), forcing a Game 6.
The series is now down to 3-2 and the Celtics are halfway to becoming the first team in NBA history to overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a series.
Boston has survived four elimination games this postseason, two vs the Heat and two in the second round against the Philadelphia 76ers. Teams that fell behind 3-0 are 0-150 all-time in series.
“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,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said afterwards.
On the other hand, the Heat have lost two straight opportunities to close out the series, which now returns to Miami for Game 6 on Saturday. The Heat will try again to become the second No. 8 seed to reach the NBA Finals in the current format, which dates to 1984.
