Defensive Improvement Becomes Priority for Miami Heat Against Boston Celtics in Game 6

The Miami Heat have at least one thing on their side in the Eastern Conference finals.

They're still ahead 3-2 in the series. Despite Friday's loss against the Boston Celtics in Game 5 and skeptics saying they may have lost momentum, the Heat remain in control.

The Heat can close it out Sunday in Game 6 and advance to the NBA Finals for the sixth time in franchise history. They refuse to believe momentum has shifted because of the way they have played in the postseason.

It was just their third loss of the playoffs.

"We're not getting caught up into all the news," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Boston played great in the second half. They deserved and earned what they got. We understand how tough it is to win in the playoffs. We did not compete hard enough defensively and we paid the price for that."

The Heat fell victim to a nearly flawless Celtics third quarter, where they were outscored 41-25. It was the latest defensive blemish in the series. The Heat used Saturday's film session to hopefully correct the issues.

"All year long we've said that, for us, it needs to start on the defensive end," forward Jimmy Butler said. "We did that OK in the first two quarters and then after that it was all downhill."

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