The Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat 110-97 in Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, on Thursday, cutting their deficit to one game (3-2) in the series.

The Celtics shot 14-for-26 from downtown in the first three quarters. 13 of them were drained by their four starters, all of who scored 20+ points. Derrick White was the sharpest from the outside as he made six of his eight shots at the 3-point line. Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown combined to go 7-for-11 behind the arc while Smart had playoff career-high five turnovers.

Tatum shot the worst at the triple line as he missed five of his six attempts there, but he delivered court-high 11 assists. Not only did he do a remarkable job of finding open teammates after compressing the Heat's defensive line, Tatum also charged the paint with passion when he saw the opportunity. He made five field goals (FGs) to get 12 points in the first quarter, including four next to the hoop.

The Celtics seemed to have turned their switch for better energy since the final quarter of Game 4. They outscored the Heat 17-7 in second-chance points on Thursday night and allowed only five offensive rebounds by the opponents before garbage time in the fourth quarter. Moreover, the Celtics got 13 steals, tearing the Heat's offense apart completely.

Defensively, the Celtics switched quickly against screen plays in many possessions, testing the isolation abilities of the opponents' role players. If the Heat managed to go into the paint off the dribble or by passing to Bam Adebayo below the free throw line, the perimeter Celtics would close in immediately. Having shot 9-for-23 at the 3-point line, the Heat failed to punish the home team for doing so.

Nothing the Celtics did to win in Thursday's game was rocket science. They had better individual defensive ability from the first place for nearly most matchups, which allowed them to contain the Heat's attacks without having to investing extra efforts in one or two specific players.

The Celtics were also the NBA's second-most productive 3-point shooting team during the regular season with the sixth-highest 3-point rate. When their players heated up early from the outside like they did on Thursday, their ball movement would be too quick for the defenders to follow while setting up a much opener paint for Tatum to slash in.

The Heat had to start Kyle Lowry in Thursday's game because Gabe Vincent sat out with an ankle injury. 37-year-old Lowry proved with his poor performance on both ends of the game that he is no longer able to play as a starter in a competitive playoff team. Neither did Max Strus contribute much in the 24 minutes he played on the court. Kevin Love was again sitting on the bench for the whole third quarter before being sent to the game again during garbage time in the fourth period.

Adebayo's offensive struggle was also key to the Heat's loss on Thursday night. He missed most of his FG attempts in the first half over the heads of defenders who are much smaller than him. He warmed up in the third quarter when he began to play more as an off-ball finisher, but Adebayo would never contribute enough unless he cracked the Celtics' defense via isolation. That will require him to be more aggressive offensively, at least to earn some free throws instead of getting none like he did in Game 5.

Another response the Heat could make to the Celtics' defensive policy will be a more energetic Jimmy Butler. He only shot 10 FGs on Thursday and made five of them to score 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. The Celtics don't have anyone who can guard Butler by himself. He needs to destroy his defender to get many more points than 14 before he can force the opponents to change their defensive policy so his teammates will face less pressure when they attack.

Game 6 will take place at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, on Saturday.