NBA Playoffs: Celtics cruise past Heat in Game 5, extend series again

Derrick White scored 24 points as the host Boston Celtics staved off elimination for the second consecutive contest with a 110-97 win over the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday.

Miami Heat forward Caleb Martin, left, shoots as Boston Celtics guard Derrick White defends during the first half in Game 5 of an NBA basketball Eastern Conference Final series. | Photo Credit: AP

Derrick White scored 24 points as the host Boston Celtics staved off elimination for the second consecutive contest with a 110-97 win over the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday.

The Heat never lead in the game, but it still held a 3-2 edge in the best-of-seven series as it heads home for Game 6 on Saturday.

White made 8 of 11 shots -- including 6 of 8 from 3-point range -- and Boston’s Marcus Smart sank 7 of 12 and 4 of 6, respectively, to highlight his 23-point performance. Smart also had five steals for the second-seeded Celtics.

Jayson Tatum collected 21 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds in the victory, and teammate Jaylen Brown scored 21 points while shooting 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Brown entered on Thursday having made just 3 of 25 shots from beyond the arc in the series.

The Celtics shot a robust 50.6 percent from the floor (40 of 79) and 41 percent from 3-point range (16 of 39). Those percentages came on the heels of Boston making 51.2 percent of its shots from the floor and 40 percent from beyond the arc in a 116-99 victory in Game 4 on Tuesday.

Miami’s Duncan Robinson made 7 of 10 shots to score 18 points off the bench. Bam Adebayo collected 16 points and eight rebounds, Haywood Highsmith added 15 points and Jimmy Butler and Caleb Martin each had 14 for the eighth-seeded Heat.

Kyle Lowry scored just five points and committed four of his team’s 16 turnovers while starting in place of the injured Gabe Vincent (sprained left ankle).

Boston bolted out of the blocks by scoring 14 unanswered points to seize a 20-5 lead. Tatum highlighted his 12-point first quarter with an emphatic dunk that gave the Celtics a 28-13 lead, and White finished with 11 points in the period after draining a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Miami trimmed the deficit to 53-41 with 2:59 remaining in the second quarter before Boston ignited an 8-0 run. White and Smart each drained a 3-pointer during that surge to help the Celtics claim a 61-44 advantage at halftime.

Boston extended the lead to 18 points after three quarters and scored the first six points of the fourth to put the game on ice.