The Boston Celtics outscored the Miami Heat 70-50 in the second half to stay alive in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Celtics rallied from 58-51 down to win 121-108 but the Heat, bidding to reach their first NBA Finals since 2014, lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 with game six on Monday (00:30 BST).
Jayson Tatum scored 17 of his game-high 31 points in the third quarter while Jaylen Brown added 28 points.
“We knew we had to play better. We were fighting for our life,” said Tatum.
“It was going to take a collective effort in the second half, and that’s what we did.”
“Our deal was to come out and play, come out and compete, give it our best shot,” added Celtics coach Brad Stevens.
“We played pretty well in the second half. We’re going to have to do it again and again because of the position we’re in.”
