Tatum and Celtics avoid elimination with Game 4 win over Heat in Eastern final | nba

Down nine early in the third quarter, down 3-0 in the series, the boston celtics he knew his season was completely on the brink.

Three minutes later, everything looked different.

Jayson Tatum had 34 points and 11 rebounds, Derrick White and Jaylen Brown each added 16 points and the Celtics avoided elimination in the Eastern Conference finals by pulling away in the second half to beat the Miami Heat 116-99 in Game 4 on Tuesday night.

“We were just trying to save our season,” Tatum said.

They definitely found a way to do that. The two big differences: a 33-point Celtics lead on 3-pointers and an 18-0 run on that three-minute third-quarter stretch that changed the game and, they hope, could end up changing the series.

“We can’t relax,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “We have to keep the same level of intensity, the same mentality, the same focus in the next game.”

Grant Williams scored 14, Al Horford added 12 and Marcus Smart scored 11 for the Celtics, who still trailed the series 3-1 but sent it back to Boston for Game 5 on Thursday.

Jimmy Butler scored 29 for Miami, which was outscored 48-22 in a 14-minute stretch that changed the game, and perhaps the series, entirely. Boston would also have Game 7 on their court if they can keep extending this series.

“Tonight we played with rhythm and purpose,” Tatum said. “We were getting stops. We were dating in transition. You see layups and free throws come in, jump shots start to feel a lot easier.”

Gabe Vincent scored 17 for Miami, Caleb Martin had 16 and Bam Adebayo added 10. The Heat shot 8-for-32 on 3-pointers while Boston was 19-for-45.

no team in nba history has never successfully recovered from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series; 150 have tried, 150 have failed.

But the Celtics gave themselves hope.

“We really don’t have a choice,” Mazzulla said. “It is life or death. We have to stick together.

The Heat led by as many as nine points in the first quarter, held the lead for most of the first half, and gained nine points again when Max Strus hit a 3-pointer early in the third quarter.

That was the moment where Boston’s season was on the line.

And the Celtics responded, with more emphasis.