“Defense wins championships” is a cliche, but boy, does it seem like no truer words have been spoken after Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Celtics ended up winning in Miami 93-80. Down five at halftime, Boston put together a 32-16 third quarter and had the lead up to 23 in the 4th. Sure, shots started falling. In a nine-minute stretch between the final two frames, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 24 of Boston’s 30 points on 9-of-11 shooting. But ultimately, it was the Celtics defense, like it has all year, that lead to victory Wednesday night.