The Boston Celtics didn’t let the fans down.
They knew they had to come out with plenty of energy and they did exactly so, taking down the Miami Heat and making a statement at home to force Game 6.
They’ll now hit the road and know they’ll have to take another game in a hostile environment, even though they have fans all over the world.
Even so, Jayson Tatum wanted to thank their supporters for all the noise and love they gave them, citing that they’re some of the best fans in the world and the team needed to match that energy.
"We got the best fans in the league… I was glad our performance matched the energy they were giving us"
Jayson Tatum talks about the importance of C's fans pic.twitter.com/tQ0XeNJBNA
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 26, 2023
The Celtics entered the game as eight-point favorites and lived up to that status from the jump.
They were physical on defense and efficient on offense, and coach Joe Mazzulla may have finally learned how to properly use his timeouts.
Erik Spoelstra will have to hit the drawing board again and make some major adjustments ahead of Game 6.
Otherwise, the Celtics would have a huge shot to become the very first team to come back from a 0-3 deficit in the history of the NBA playoffs, and you definitely don’t want to put yourself in a position to have to play a Game 7 on the road, let alone at the TD Garden.
This series seemed over just 48 hours ago, but the Celtics seem to have a lot of fight left in them.
Whoever wins, this is great news for Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, who already took care of business and punched their tickets to the NBA Finals.
NEXT: Joe Mazzulla Delivered A Powerful Message Ahead Of Game 5