Members of the Boston Celtics were talking about a return trip to South Florida mere moments after the team averted a sweep at the hands of the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.
While talk is cheap, the conversation will become real if the Celtics fend off elimination for the second consecutive contest on Thursday when they host the Heat in Game 5 in Boston.
Jayson Tatum scored 25 of his 33 points in the second half Tuesday, with 14 coming during a third quarter in which Boston outscored Miami by a 38-23 margin. All told, Tatum made 11 of 15 shots from the floor after intermission.
Tatum wasn’t alone, either. The Celtics shot 51.2 percent from the floor (43 of 84) for the game and 40 percent from 3-point range (18 of 45).
TD Garden hasn’t been kind to the home tenants in the postseason, however. The Celtics have lost five of their past seven games in Boston.
That said, the Heat had won all six of their home playoff games before Tuesday’s tumble in Miami.
The Heat were denied in their first opportunity to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons. They also were thwarted in their first chance to join the 1998-99 New York Knicks as the lone eighth-seeded teams in the league to advance to the NBA Finals.
Jimmy Butler, who recorded team highs in points (29) and rebounds (nine) on Tuesday, refused to get too down after seeing the team’s initial opportunities go by the boards.
Caleb Martin made his first six shots from the floor on Tuesday and scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half.
