Miami Heat defeated Boston Celtics 97-87 on Wednesday in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. Heat won the series 4-1, and will play either Chicago or Atlanta in the conference finals.
Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 34 points, but it was the fourth-quarter play of LeBron James that propelled Heat into the next round.
James, who scored 33 points, had three baskets in the closing moments to help Miami close out the series.
Heat trailed 87-81 late in the fourth quarter, but finished with a 16-0 run.
In the Western Conference semi-finals, Kevin Durant scored 19 points and Daequan Cook added 18 as Oklahoma City Thunder chalked out a 99-72 triumph over Memphis Grizzlies to take their first series lead at 3-2.
Celtics were led by Ray Allen's 18 points and Kevin Garnett, who scored 15. But they were undermanned in the final moments because of injuries to Rajon Rondo and Jermaine O'Neal, who were both sidelined with back problems. Rondo was also battling a sore elbow he dislocated in Game 3.
Heat's Big 3 of James, Chris Bosh and Wade combined for 81 of the 97 points. On the other hand Boston's trio of Garnett, Paul Pierce and Allen totaled just 45 points.
Trailing 87-81, Heat regrouped and scored the game's final 16 points. James led the way scoring eight points, including two 3-pointers, during the stretch.
After Bosh tied the score on a dunk, James hit the last of his 3-pointers to put Heat ahead for good.
At Oklahoma City, Thunder led 3-2 heading into Game 6 on Friday night in Memphis.
After a draining triple-overtime game Monday night, Memphis center Marc Gasol thought fatigue would play a factor in Game 5 and it did.
The Grizzlies had nothing in the tank from the start and Oklahoma City Thunder never took their feet off the gas. Thunder players and coaches said before the game they felt energized despite the long contest less than 44 hours before the tip-off of Game 5 and it showed.
Both teams managed just 17 points in the first quarter but OKC took control after that.
Thunder two-time All-Star Kevin Durant led all scorers with 19 points and he spent the entire fourth quarter on the bench. Oklahoma City's bench outscored the Memphis starters 53-45.
Thunder 3-point specialist Daequan Cook was hot, going 6-for-7 overall and 4-for-5 from long range to finish with 18 points. Gasol led Memphis with 15 points and teammate Zach Randolph, who appeared frustrated at times, managed just nine points on 3-for-9 shooting.
