BOSTON Celtics moved on to the next round after ousting Miami Heat with a 118-84 Game 5 win in the NBA Eastern Conference first round series on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Derrick White drilled five three-point conversions to end up with 25 points, while Jaylen Brown also finished with 25 as the Celtics wrapped up their best-of-seven series at 4-1.
Sam Hauser also made his presence felt with 17 points off-the-bench, including five triples, Jason Tatum had a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday finished with 10 points.
Holding to a 21-16 lead early in the first quarter, the Celtics unloaded an 11-0 run behind tripled by Tatum and Hauser, creating the much-needed separation from the shorthanded Heat.
Miami played without star guard Jimmy Butler the rest of the series due to a MCL injury, while they also lost Josh Richardson, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Terry Rozier due to injuries.
Bam Adebayo top-scored for the Heat with 23 points and six rebounds, Tyler Herro added 15 markers, and Caleb Martin and Thomas Bryant finished with 10 markers apiece.
Meanwhile, Dallas Mavericks moved on the verge of reaching the second round after a 123-93 Game 5 win over Los Angeles Clippers at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Luka Doncic flirted with a triple-double with 35 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds, while Maxi Kleber chipped in 15 markers as the Mavericks took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Kyrie Irving and Jaden Hardy finished with 14 markers apiece, while Derrick Jones Jr. and Dereck Lively II ended up with 12 points each for the Mavericks.
Paul George and Ivica Zubac led the Clippers with 15 points apiece, Norman Powell added 14 markers, while Terence Mann and Bones Hyland tallied 11 each./PN
BOX SCORE:
BOSTON 118 — Brown 25, White 25, Hauser 17, Tatum 16, Holiday 10, Horford 8, Pritchard 7, Brissett 4, Kornet 2, Tillman 2, Springer 2, Mykhailiuk 0.
MIAMI 84 — Adebayo 23, Herro 15, Martin 10, Bryant 10, Wright 8, Jović 8, Highsmith 4, Mills 2, Robinson 2, Love 2.
Quarterscores: 41-23, 68-46, 98-66, 118-84.
