Related items

• White's last-second putback forces Game 7 as Celtics win again

  Derrick White put home Marcus Smart's missed three-pointer just before the final buzzer sounded to give the Boston Celtics a thrilling 104-103 victory over the Miami Heat to force Game 7 in the Eastern Conference finals.

  After Jimmy Butler sank three free throws to give Miami a 103-102 lead with three seconds left, the Celtics inbounded to Smart, whose three-pointer rattled in and out.

  But White grabbed the rebound and released it with 0.1 seconds on the clock to save Boston's season.

  The Celtics are on the brink of the greatest comeback in NBA playoffs history, needing a win at home in Game 7 on Monday to become the first team to rally to win a series after losing the first three games.

  Boston are only the fourth NBA team to erase a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series to force a deciding game.

  Monday's winner will face the Denver Nuggets in a title series that will start on June 1.

  Jayson Tatum had 31 points and 10 rebounds, Jaylen Brown added 26 and 10 boards and Smart finished with 21 points as the Celtics improved to 5-0 when facing elimination this season.

  Butler scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to go with 11 rebounds and eight assists.

  The Heat need a win Monday to become only the second number eight seed to make the NBA Finals and avoid the dubious distinction of being the first team to blow a 3-0 series lead.

• Butler after Heat lose again: 'The last two games are not who we are'

  Jimmy Butler is confident the Miami Heat will rediscover their form as they aim to clinch a place in the NBA Finals.

  Miami lost 110-97 to the Boston Celtics on Thursday in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, cutting their lead in the series to 3-2.

  Boston head into Game 6 within two wins of making NBA history – no team has ever come from 3-0 down to win a seven-game series.

  Butler, though, still has faith the Heat will join the Denver Nuggets in the Finals.

  "The last two games are not who we are," he said. "It just happened to be that way.

  "We stopped playing defense halfway because we didn't make shots that we want to make. But that's easily correctable.

  "You just have to come out and play harder from the jump. Like I always say, it's going to be all smiles, and we are going to keep it very, very, very consistent, knowing that we are going to win next game.

  "We've just got to play better. Start the game off better, on the starters, make it more difficult for them.

  "They are in a rhythm since the beginning of the game. But we are always going to stay positive, knowing that we can and we will win this series. We'll just have to close it out at home."

  Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, meanwhile, was in bullish form when he spoke to the media.

  "Who cares about mood?" Spoelstra said.

  "We have a gnarly group. I think so much of that is overrated. It's a competitive series. You always expect things to be challenging in the conference finals.

  "One game doesn't lead to the next game. Based on all the experience that we've had, it doesn't matter in the playoffs. It doesn't matter if you lose by whatever.

  "We beat them by whatever in Game 3. It just doesn't matter. It's about collectively preparing and putting together a great game. We'll play much better on Saturday. That's all we just have to focus on right now."

• 'We stayed together' – Brown lauds Celtics' unity as history beckons

  Jaylen Brown hailed the Boston Celtics' unity after they beat the Miami Heat 110-97 to force Game 6 in the Eastern Conference finals.

  Having staved off elimination with a win in Game 4, the Celtics never trailed in Game 5 on Thursday as they cut Miami's lead to 3-2.

  Boston will now aim to level the series in Miami on Saturday. Should they complete a remarkable turnaround, they will be the first team in NBA history to rally from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series, after 150 previous sides failed to do so.

  Brown, who contributed 21 points to Celtics' total, explained the team could not have been at a lower ebb after losing the first three games of the series.

  "Our back has been against the wall. Obviously, we didn't imagine being in this position, being down 3-0, but when adversity hits, you get to see what a team is really made of," he said.

  "It couldn't get worse than being down 3-0, but we didn't look around, we didn't go in separate directions. We stayed together."

  Only three teams have managed to take a series to Game 7 after losing the opening three games, the last of which was the Portland Trail Blazers in 2003.

  "For some odd reason, even last year, we always seemed to make it a little bit tougher on ourselves," added Jayson Tatum, who had a double-double of 21 points and 11 assists.

  "What I do know is that you can see the true character of a person, of a team, when things aren't going well, and our ability to come together, figure things out when it's not necessarily looking good for us.

  "It's unlike any team I've been on this year and last year, just the core group of guys being able to respond.

  "I think that's just a testament to our togetherness, obviously how bad we want it, and we've got a room full of determined, tough guys that push comes to shove, you look to the left and the right of you, believe that the guy next to you is going to do whatever it takes and go down fighting if it doesn't work out."

  Looking ahead to Game 6, Brown is under no illusions of the scale of the task at hand.

  "It's going to take everything," he said.

  "It's going to be a dogfight. I imagine those guys will play better than they played tonight, and they're going to come out aggressive. We've got to be ready to take their punch at home. We've got to be ready to be resilient and come out and do what we're supposed to do."