Playing without Kristaps Porzingis due to injury, the top seeded Boston Celtics took care of the Miami Heat 118-84 on Wednesday night in Game 5 of an NBA Eastern Conference First Round Playoff series at TD Garden. After falling to Miami 111-101 last Wednesday at home in Game 2 when the Heat hit a postseason franchise record 23 three-pointers, the Celtics advanced with three straight wins to take the series 4-1. Boston will now face either #4 seed Cleveland or #5 Orlando in the best of seven second round, with the Cavaliers up 3-2 and looking to close out the Magic on Friday in Game 6. The C’s, who have homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, will host the first two games with the schedule to be announced.
Boston never trailed and blew the game open in the first half, and didn’t let eighth seeded Miami hang around. With the score tied 11-11 with 6:46 left in the first quarter, the Celtics went on a run of 30-12 to end the period and take control 41-23. They would lead by as many as 30 in the first half, hitting 10 three-pointers and Derrick White (17), Jaylen Brown (17), and Jayson Tatum (15) all scored in double figures in the first 24 minutes. White was coming off a career-high 38 points in Game 4. The advantage grew to as many as 37 in the second half, as Boston won the final three games of the series by an average of 22.7 points.
White and Brown both finished with 25 points. Brown had six rebounds, and White hit 5-10 on three-pointers and also added five rebounds. Sam Houser came off the bench to put in 17 points (5-8 three-pointers), and Tatum who didn’t play much in the second half would finish with a double double with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists. Jrue Holiday also reached double figures with 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Boston shot 54.5% from the floor, and 16-40 (40%) from behind the arc. Bam Adebayo led Miami with 23 points, five rebounds, and six assists, while Tyler Herro had 15 points. The defending Eastern Conference Champion Heat, playing the entire series without their star Jimmy Butler due to injury, finish the season with a record of 48-41. The Celtics (68-19) will get some rest and await either the Cavaliers or Magic as their second round opponent. The latest word on Porzingis is that he did avoid a more serious achilles injury but did suffer a right soleus strain in Game 4 vs Miami, and could miss the entire second round.
The closeout game for Boston also marked the final time behind the microphone for long-term Celtics play by play man Mike Gorman. Gorman is now into retirement after 43 years of calling games for the team (1981-2024), and was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004 and the National Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021. Quite a career and a voice that won’t soon be forgotten as a basketball fan.
Recap by Chris Lessner
