Tatum to fore as Celtics stay alive with victory at Heat

MIAMI: The Boston Celtics kept their Eastern Conference finals hopes alive with a 116-99 victory over the Miami Heat on Tuesday to reduce the series deficit to 3-1.

Jayson Tatum inspired the Celtics with 33 points, 11 rebounds and assists, while five other players reached double figures in what was a determined team display from Joe Mazzulla’s side.

After the Heat’s 128-102 win on Sunday, the Celtics were facing the possibility of a humiliating 4-0 exit but they will now be looking to put further pressure on Miami in Thursday’s clash back in Boston.

While no team in NBA history has ever come back from 3-0 down to win a best-of-seven playoff series, Boston will have drawn belief that they can now deliver a comeback and reach the Finals where the Denver Nuggets await.

“We weren’t thinking about winning four in a row tonight, we were just trying to save our season and win tonight and we did that,” said Tatum.

Jaylen Brown, who put up 16 points, said the Celtics had faced up to their predicament and united ahead of the game.

“We wanted to make sure that we stayed together, we looked each other in the eye and we came out together and I am proud of the group. You see (some) teams, with their backs against the wall, they just collapse, we didn’t do that, we came together. I think that showed our character,” he said.

The Heat, looking to reach the NBA finals for the seventh time as they search for their first NBA Championship since 2013, started strongly and took a 22-15 lead with four minutes left in the first quarter.

With Gabe Vincent in inspired form, the Miami crowd sensed another convincing win for Erik Spoelstra but Boston kept themselves in the game and went in just 56-50 down at halftime.

But Miami never