Celtics Throttle Heat, 118-84
The Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat, 118-84, at TD Garden in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal-round series Thursday night. The Celtics have won the series, 4-1.
The Celtics (4-1) checked into the night knowing they likely needed to just lock in for the better part of a half and they'd have a good chance to knock off a depleted Heat (1-4) squad. Boston got down to the task at hand immediately, surging past Miami after an early 9-9 tie to eventually take a 22-point lead into halftime. The game was essentially decided at that point considering Miami's inability to slow Boston down and its short-handed roster, but the hosts left no doubt as to the outcome by adding another 10 points to their advantage ahead of the final period on the way to the series-clinching victory.
Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 23 points, adding six assists, five rebounds and two steals. Tyler Herro furnished 15 points, three rebounds and three assists. Caleb Martin and Thomas Bryant produced matching 10-point, one-assist contributions while recording four and three rebounds, respectively.
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White co-led the Celtics with 25-point, two-assist tallies while adding six and five rebounds, respectively. Sam Hauser supplied 17 points, five rebounds and one assist. Jayson Tatum generated a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double that included three assists and one block. Jrue Holiday registered 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and one steal.
The Celtics now await the winner of the Orlando Magic-Cleveland Cavaliers quarterfinal-round series that Cleveland leads by a 3-2 margin going into Friday night's Game 6.
The Celtics (4-1) checked into the night knowing they likely needed to just lock in for the better part of a half and they'd have a good chance to knock off a depleted Heat (1-4) squad. Boston got down to the task at hand immediately, surging past Miami after an early 9-9 tie to eventually take a 22-point lead into halftime. The game was essentially decided at that point considering Miami's inability to slow Boston down and its short-handed roster, but the hosts left no doubt as to the outcome by adding another 10 points to their advantage ahead of the final period on the way to the series-clinching victory.
Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 23 points, adding six assists, five rebounds and two steals. Tyler Herro furnished 15 points, three rebounds and three assists. Caleb Martin and Thomas Bryant produced matching 10-point, one-assist contributions while recording four and three rebounds, respectively.
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White co-led the Celtics with 25-point, two-assist tallies while adding six and five rebounds, respectively. Sam Hauser supplied 17 points, five rebounds and one assist. Jayson Tatum generated a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double that included three assists and one block. Jrue Holiday registered 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and one steal.
The Celtics now await the winner of the Orlando Magic-Cleveland Cavaliers quarterfinal-round series that Cleveland leads by a 3-2 margin going into Friday night's Game 6.
Mavs Clobber Clippers, 123-93, Take 3-2 Series Lead
The Dallas Mavericks defeated the host Los Angeles Clippers, 123-93, in Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday.
Dallas leads this series, 3-2.
This was as lopsided as a playoff game gets, with Dallas winning all four individual quarters. They actually won each of the final three quarters by nine points or more, completing their blowout with a 67-47 second half. There were 12 lead changes in the first quarter but the Mavs led by at least 15 points for the final 18 minutes. Dallas shot 54 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range, while Los Angeles shot 38 percent from the field and 26 percent from long range. They also recorded 27 assists to eight turnovers, while LA had 18 assists to 13 turnovers.
The Mavericks (3-2) were led by Luka Doncic, collecting 35 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists. Kyrie Irving compiled 14 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals. Derrick Jones had 12 points, three rebounds and three blocks, while Maxi Kleber led the bench with 15 points and three rebounds. Dereck Lively amassed 12 points and seven boards.
The Clippers (2-3) were led by Paul George, providing 15 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Ivica Zubac totaled 15 points, six rebounds and two assists. Terance Mann tallied 11 points and seven rebounds, while Norman Powell led the bench with 14 points and two boards. James Harden missed 10 of his 12 shots to finish with seven points, four rebounds and seven assists.
Game 6 will be played in Dallas on Friday.
Dallas leads this series, 3-2.
This was as lopsided as a playoff game gets, with Dallas winning all four individual quarters. They actually won each of the final three quarters by nine points or more, completing their blowout with a 67-47 second half. There were 12 lead changes in the first quarter but the Mavs led by at least 15 points for the final 18 minutes. Dallas shot 54 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range, while Los Angeles shot 38 percent from the field and 26 percent from long range. They also recorded 27 assists to eight turnovers, while LA had 18 assists to 13 turnovers.
The Mavericks (3-2) were led by Luka Doncic, collecting 35 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists. Kyrie Irving compiled 14 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals. Derrick Jones had 12 points, three rebounds and three blocks, while Maxi Kleber led the bench with 15 points and three rebounds. Dereck Lively amassed 12 points and seven boards.
The Clippers (2-3) were led by Paul George, providing 15 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Ivica Zubac totaled 15 points, six rebounds and two assists. Terance Mann tallied 11 points and seven rebounds, while Norman Powell led the bench with 14 points and two boards. James Harden missed 10 of his 12 shots to finish with seven points, four rebounds and seven assists.
Game 6 will be played in Dallas on Friday.