Thanks to Jayson Tatum's halftime speech and on-court performance Friday night, Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals is now necessary. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Jayson Tatum's inspirational halftime speech spurs Celtics to victory

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 9/26/20

The Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat 121-108 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday night to avoid elimination and send things to a Game 6. An attitude change at halftime helped spur the team to victory.

Boston was down by seven at halftime and ended up blasting Miami in the third quarter to take a nine-point lead in the game. The Celtics extended the lead in the fourth quarter to get a 13-point win.

According to Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, Boston's players spoke at halftime about how dire the situation was. Jayson Tatum was among the players who spoke to help inspire an attitude change.

Brad Stevens told me at halftime that several players spoke up, talking about how dire the moment was and how they had to save their season. Jayson Tatum was one of them – he just told me he’s proud of how the group responded afterward.

— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) September 26, 2020

Tatum was the big scorer for the Celtics. He had 31 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Tatum was sent to the line for 14 free throws and made 12 of them to help give Boston a boost.

Game 6 of the series will be on Sunday with Miami leading 3-2. The Celtics seem to have gotten their chemistry in line after their issues following Game 2.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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