With their backs against the wall, the Boston Celtics looked to be in trouble in the first half.
Coming out of halftime looking like a completely different team, the Celtics went on a 20-3 run in the third quarter to swipe the lead from the Miami Heat. Boston wouldn’t surrender the lead thereafter, picking up the win to force a Game 6.
For more on this thrilling Game 5, we had you covered with live updates, highlights, stats and more below.
Final: Boston Celtics 121, Miami Heat 108
In a tale of two halves, the Celtics have kept their season alive. Jayson Tatum (31 points) and Jaylen Brown (28 points) combined for 59 points to help Boston force a Game 6. The Heat would shoot 3-for-18 (16.7%) from 3 in the second half, being out-scored 70-50 and out-rebounded 28-12 to alter the outcome of this game.
Miami had six different players score in double figures, led by Goran Dragic’s 23 points and Jimmy Butler‘s strong stat line of 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Celtics’ second half charge.
The Celtics have not let their foot off the gas. A pair of Jaylen Brown 3s highlight’s their hot start to the fourth quarter as they’ve built their lead up to 16 at 107-91. Brown now has 24 points shooting 10-for-19 from the field and 4-for-8 from 3-point land.
From down seven at the half to up nine heading into the fourth quarter, the Celtics have life. It was a complete team effort from Boston to win the third quarter 41-25, but Jayson Tatum’s 17 points in the frame kept the foot on the gas. If not for a 13-point quarter from Goran Dragic, the Heat could be in much more trouble.
It’s a 20-3 run for the Celtics! They have come out of the half on fire to take a 71-63 lead with a Jayson Tatum 3-pointer forcing the Heat to take a timeout.
We have a ballgame on our hands! The Celtics look much more engaged to start the second half, locking up defensively and getting to the 50-50 balls that went Miami’s way all first half. Just like that, it’s a tied game at 60 with Boston taking a 9-2 run to start the third quarter.
The Heat hold a seven-point lead heading into the half behind Duncan Robinson’s 17 points. Jimmy Butler has kept the wheels turning on both ends of the floor with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block. For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have 10 points apiece, while Enes Kanter gave the team a strong 10 minutes in the first half, tallying eight points, four rebounds and two assists.
Something worth noting: Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker each have three fouls here in the first half.
And Jayson Tatum gets his first 3-pointer of the game to fall! The Celtics still trail 52-47 with under two minutes to go in the half, struggling to come up with consecutive stops. Tatum now has 10 points in the first half.
Jaylen Brown is giving the Celtics a little bit of life. The star forward knocked down a 3, followed by an emphatic dunk to cut the deficit to seven at 44-37. He is the first Celtic in double figures with 10 points.
The Heat just want it more so far. Leading 40-28, Miami is playing hard on defence, getting to all the 50-50 balls and just out-hustling their opponent. Jimmy Butler is doing a little bit of everything with six points, six rebounds, four assists and one steal.
End of first quarter: Heat 26, Celtics 18
The Heat controlled the entire first quarter behind Duncan Robinson’s hot start. The sharpshooting forward already has 12 points through one frame, shooting 2-for-4 from 3-point range. The Celtics are struggling to get consistent looks on offence, shooting just 25.0% from both the field and beyond the arc. Jayson Tatum has been held to three points shooting 0-for-3 from the field.
The Heat extended that lead to 17-5, but the Celtics are charging back. An 8-0 run has Boston right back in it, trailing 17-13 with 3:10 to go in the first. They’re still shooting just 3-for-15 from the field and 3-for-10 from beyond the arc.
The Celtics are forced to take a timeout early in this one as the Heat jump out to an 11-5 lead in the first four minutes. Boston has made just one of their first nine field goal attempts with two turnovers – a less than ideal start for a team playing for their season.
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
