The Boston Celtics got their act together in Game 5 to beat the Miami Heat 121-108 on Friday to stay in championship contention this season.

The first-quarter score of 26-18 was in favour of the Miami Heat after a sluggish Celtics shot 25% from the floor and had a poor showing in defence.

By the second quarter, Celtics reserve big man Enes Kanter and Jaylen Brown fought back. Jayson Tatum attacked the paint as he did in their previous Game 3 win and started to demoralise the Heat defence by getting in foul trouble.

According to Yard Barker, Celtics Coach Brad Stevens saw his team speak to each other in an inspirational way. It was different after their Game 2 loss when the Celtics had an emotional breakdown and started pointing fingers. This time, the players lifted each other up. The young Jayson Tatum was singled out by the coach as particularly inspirational.

At that point, the Celtics were down seven points and were two quarters away from ending their season. Tatum, only in his third season as an NBA player, is slowly emerging as the captain of the Celtics. He is stepping up to the job more that Kemba Walker, who was hired for the job to replace the ageing Gordon Hayward.

In the third quarter, the Celtics outperformed the Heat 41-25. It continued on till the fourth quarter, and the Heat was never able to recover.

Taytum scored 31 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and had 6 assists. He also shot 12-14 in the free-throw line after crushing the Miami zone defense.

According to ESPN, It wasn't a one-man show. The old guards, Walker and Hayward, set the plays while young players such as Daniel Theis, Taytum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart did the damage.

All in all, it was an impressive showing for the Celtics. It unlocked the potential of their young blood playing with their veterans. Miami did all it can to respond and played well throughout the game, but the Celtics just played better.

All the Celtics need to do now is win the next two games. It's a tall order, but if they can keep the intensity they showed last Friday, it's not impossible.

Boston's Jaylen Brown
Boston's Jaylen Brown GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Vaughn Ridley