Celtics Aim To Close Series Against Cavaliers
The Boston Celtics will host the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at TD Garden on Wednesday night. The Celtics lead the series 3-1.
The Celtics are potentially 48 minutes away from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. Boston suffered a shocking loss in Game 2 of the series, but the Celtics bounced back admirably with back-to-back wins in Cleveland. Their 109-102 win in Game 4 was more complicated than expected, but the Celtics continued to perform at a high level despite missing Kristaps Porzingis due to injury. The Celtics have gone 3-2 at home during the playoffs, and that has been slightly subpar after losing just three of 41 regular-season contests in front of their fans. Considering the Cavaliers could be shorthanded for this matchup, the Celtics look like complete favorites to close the series out in front of their fans. If the Celtics play as well as they’ve played in the last two games, they shouldn’t have problems closing the series.
Kristaps Porzingis (calf) is out for Game 5. The rest of the team is available.
The Cavaliers have their backs against the wall ahead of Game 5, and things look complicated for them since there’s a strong chance they’ll be without two of their best players, Donovan Mitchell (calf) and Jarrett Allen (ribs). Cleveland appeared to have cracked the code after winning Game 2 of the series, but the team couldn’t keep the momentum going despite playing Game 3 and Game 4 at home. The Cavaliers need to tighten things up defensively, and while they’ve done a good job of slowing Jayson Tatum at times, Cleveland must compete at a high level for the entire 48 minutes if the team wants to have a shot at pulling another upset on the road. The Cavaliers will have to rely on Darius Garland and Evan Mobley to pull a gigantic upset against the team with the best record in the 2023-24 regular season.
Caris LeVert (knee), Jarrett Allen (ribs), Donovan Mitchell (calf) and Craig Porter (ankle) are game-time calls for Wednesday. Ty Jerome (ankle) is out.
The Celtics are potentially 48 minutes away from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. Boston suffered a shocking loss in Game 2 of the series, but the Celtics bounced back admirably with back-to-back wins in Cleveland. Their 109-102 win in Game 4 was more complicated than expected, but the Celtics continued to perform at a high level despite missing Kristaps Porzingis due to injury. The Celtics have gone 3-2 at home during the playoffs, and that has been slightly subpar after losing just three of 41 regular-season contests in front of their fans. Considering the Cavaliers could be shorthanded for this matchup, the Celtics look like complete favorites to close the series out in front of their fans. If the Celtics play as well as they’ve played in the last two games, they shouldn’t have problems closing the series.
Kristaps Porzingis (calf) is out for Game 5. The rest of the team is available.
The Cavaliers have their backs against the wall ahead of Game 5, and things look complicated for them since there’s a strong chance they’ll be without two of their best players, Donovan Mitchell (calf) and Jarrett Allen (ribs). Cleveland appeared to have cracked the code after winning Game 2 of the series, but the team couldn’t keep the momentum going despite playing Game 3 and Game 4 at home. The Cavaliers need to tighten things up defensively, and while they’ve done a good job of slowing Jayson Tatum at times, Cleveland must compete at a high level for the entire 48 minutes if the team wants to have a shot at pulling another upset on the road. The Cavaliers will have to rely on Darius Garland and Evan Mobley to pull a gigantic upset against the team with the best record in the 2023-24 regular season.
Caris LeVert (knee), Jarrett Allen (ribs), Donovan Mitchell (calf) and Craig Porter (ankle) are game-time calls for Wednesday. Ty Jerome (ankle) is out.
Thunder Look To Bring Momentum Home
By Dan Bruno
The Oklahoma City Thunder play host to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semi Finals at Paycom Center on Wednesday evening.
The Thunder picked up the first win of the series but fell short at home in Game 2. The Mavs carried the momentum back to Dallas and claimed a 2-1 series lead with a home win in Game 3, but the Thunder responded with a valiant effort to snag the road win in Game 4 and tie the series at 2-2.
Game 4 started out in favor of the hosting Mavericks, as they owned a 10-point lead after one quarter. The Thunder had no answers in the second and trailed by 11 points at the break but picked up their play in the third to trim it back to a four-point game entering the final quarter. The hosts stayed a step ahead through most of the fourth, but the Thunder kept up the fight and mounted a 20-10 run in the final six minutes to secure the critical win. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 34 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks, while Chet Holmgren followed up with 18 points, nine rebounds, a steal and four blocks, and Luguentz Dort totaled 17 points, eight rebounds and a block. On the other side, P.J. Washington led the Mavs with 21 points, 12 rebounds and a block, while Luka Doncic logged 18 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and a block, and Kyrie Irving was limited to nine points and nine assists.
The Thunder look ahead to Wednesday's matchup with a clean bill of health, while the Mavs face some issues as Luka Doncic (ankle) is listed as probable, and Maxi Kleber (shoulder) remains out.
The Thunder picked up the first win of the series but fell short at home in Game 2. The Mavs carried the momentum back to Dallas and claimed a 2-1 series lead with a home win in Game 3, but the Thunder responded with a valiant effort to snag the road win in Game 4 and tie the series at 2-2.
Game 4 started out in favor of the hosting Mavericks, as they owned a 10-point lead after one quarter. The Thunder had no answers in the second and trailed by 11 points at the break but picked up their play in the third to trim it back to a four-point game entering the final quarter. The hosts stayed a step ahead through most of the fourth, but the Thunder kept up the fight and mounted a 20-10 run in the final six minutes to secure the critical win. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 34 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks, while Chet Holmgren followed up with 18 points, nine rebounds, a steal and four blocks, and Luguentz Dort totaled 17 points, eight rebounds and a block. On the other side, P.J. Washington led the Mavs with 21 points, 12 rebounds and a block, while Luka Doncic logged 18 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and a block, and Kyrie Irving was limited to nine points and nine assists.
The Thunder look ahead to Wednesday's matchup with a clean bill of health, while the Mavs face some issues as Luka Doncic (ankle) is listed as probable, and Maxi Kleber (shoulder) remains out.