NBA: Celtics Beat Heat, Prevents Eastern Finals Sweep

Power forward Jayson Tatum recorded 33 points and 11 rebounds as the visiting Boston Celtics fought off elimination from NBA’s Eastern Conference finals after a 116-99 victory against the Miami Heat in Game 4, at the Kaseya Center in Miami, USA.

Tatum made 14 of 22 shot attempts from the floor, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range. He also had seven assists for the second-seeded Celtics, who trail 3-1 in the best-of-seven series heading into Thursday’s Game 5 in Boston.

Brown scored 17 points and Derrick White added 16 to help the Celtics prevent Miami from becoming the second eighth-seeded team to advance to the NBA Finals.  Grant Williams scored 14 points off the bench and Al Horford added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Celtics.

🏀 FINAL SCORE 🏀

Jayson Tatum leads the @celtics to victory in Game 4 to extend the series!

Jaylen Brown: 17 PTS, 4 AST, 2 STL
Derrick White: 16 PTS, 2 STL, 2 BLK
Jimmy Butler: 29 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST

ECF Game 5: Thursday, 8:30pm/et on TNT pic.twitter.com/zsQ6QLnnW9

— NBA (@NBA) May 24, 2023

“We have to keep that same level of intensity, same mindset, same focus for the next game,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, two days after he pointed the finger at himself following his team’s 128-102 loss in Game 3.

• Read more: NBA: Nuggets Take 3-0 Series Lead Against Lakers

Boston shot 51.2% from the floor (43 of 84) for the game and 40% from 3-point range (18 of 45).

Miami’s Jimmy Butler overcame a slow start to record 29 points and 9 rebounds. D’Tigers of Nigeria’s Gabe Vincent scored 17 points for the Miami Heat, while Caleb Martin added 16 points off the bench for the Heat.