The Miami Heat are now on the brink of elimination from the NBA playoffs. The Boston Celtics handed them a big loss in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals and are now just one win away from the NBA Finals.

In what was at first a competitive ball game, the Celtics found their groove on offense and obliterated the Heat in the third quarter, outscoring them 32-16 and taking the win by a score of 93-80. Miami's offense struggled severely in large part to Kyle Lowry and Max Strus shooting a combined 0-15 from the field — a historically awful performance from a starting backcourt — while Jimmy Butler shot just 4-18.

Lowry, who laid an egg in the points and assists columns and led the Hat with five personal fouls in 25 minutes, said that he played terribly and didn't offer any excuses for his poor performance.

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Lowry has been extremely unimpressive, to put it lightly, in Miami's playoff run. Although a hamstring injury is partly to blame, he has not been good at all. The 36-year-old is averaging just 5.6 points and 4.3 assists per game across 8 postseason contests in 2022. Game 5 was his second scoreless postseason contest this year.

The Heat definitely need more from Lowry but he is far from the lone culprit. Butler and Bam Adebayo have to play great, too. Still, none of the Heat players are hanging their heads after the Game 5 defeat. They have plenty of confidence heading into Game 6 in Boston. But they will need more than that to stay alive in the NBA playoffs.