BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum wants experience to guide the Celtics as they return to their home court with a chance to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010.
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Tatum was a rookie when Boston reached the Eastern Conference finals in 2018 and the club led LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 3-2 in the series.
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He also remembers what it felt like when James shattered the Celtics’ dream. The star scored 46 points against them and the Cavaliers won the sixth game. He had 35 points in the deciding Game 7, which Cleveland won at TD Garden.
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Boston again holds a 3-2 lead in the conference finals, this time over favorite Miami Heat ahead of Game 6 scheduled for Friday.
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Tatum said the current circumstances are different.
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“I am much better. (Jaylen) Brown is. We are more mature. And we’ve been through those tough times,” Tatum said. “But the mindset and conversation we had after the game was that we were down 3-2 the last time (in the semifinal against the Bucks) and we had to go on the road to win Game 6 and we did it. That is why we cannot think that everything is over.
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Tatum wants Boston to maintain the mentality of an underdog team.
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“We need to come home like we’re down 3-2. With that sense of urgency that you have to win the match, ”she added. “We don’t have to relax because we have the advantage. The work is not finished yet.”
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Apparently the Celtics will face a Heat that is no longer the same as two games ago and had won the first and third games.
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Jimmy Butler, who has participated in the All-Star Game, insists he is fine but inflammation in his right knee appeared to slow him down and sidelined him in the second half of the third game won by Miami. In the past two games, Butler has only scored 19 points while shooting 7-for-32 from the field.
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Kyle Lowry has simply disappeared on offense since returning from a hamstring injury and reigning Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro has missed the past two games with a groin problem.
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All of this has helped the Heat go from having the NBA’s best 38% offensive ERA in the regular season to 29% in the conference finals.
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“Honestly, it doesn’t matter,” Butler said. “If I go out on the court, I have to play better. I have to find a way to help us win and I haven’t been doing that. I’m fine, my knee is fine. I just have to improve. There are no excuses”.
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