The day couldn’t have started better for Celtics fans at least, getting the notification that Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, and Craig Porter were all out for Game 5. This was the perfect opportunity for the Celtics to close the series, which they did with a 113-98 on Wednesday night.
Behind a 22-point and 15-rebound performance from Al Horford, the Celtics are back in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Celtics started the game shooting well beyond the arc. Jaylen Brown, Derrick White (twice), and Al Horford — breaking a 0-11 streak — made a three to give Boston a 14-10 lead within the first five minutes.
A Tatum dunk with under seven minutes left led to the first timeout of the game from the Cavs.
Despite the free-flowing offense from Boston, the Cavs responded to every run the Celtics went on. A deep Marcus Morris three led to a Joe Mazzulla timeout with Boston leading 23-22 with 3:17 left in the first quarter.
The Celtics offense went cold late in the quarter while the Cavs were the ones looking more likely to score with each possession. Cleveland, through Max Strus, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley helped the Cavs end the quarter tied at 28.
The second quarter started strong with Boston knocking down back-to-back threes with Pritchard and Hauser finding the bottom of the net. However, the Cavs responded with back-to-back threes of their own leading to another Mazzulla timeout with the game tied at 34.
With Isaac Okoro in foul trouble, Marcus Morris got the nod and scored five straight points from the Cavs to take a 46-40 lead halfway through the second quarter.
Derrick White knotted things up at 48 with his third three of the half to make it 15 points for White with four minutes left.
After a controversial offensive foul on Jaylen Brown, Al Horford got the crowd back in it with a corner three and then forcing a travel on defense. Horford would follow up the forced turnover with a block and then forcing a steal on an inbound, leading to a Tatum dunk to give Boston a 53-48 lead.
Horford played like he didn’t want to go back to Cleveland.
Tatum shot the team’s first free throws with 37.1 seconds left in the first half making the pair.
After a White block, Tatum drilled a three with under six seconds left, but Tatum was hit with a tech for a vicious hand wave at referee Tony Brothers.
Jayson Tatum hits the tough step back three and then gets called for the tech. Jaylen Brown tried to grab him but he was heated. pic.twitter.com/BH8oVfekrY
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzellNBA) May 16, 2024
Boston led 58-52 at the half.
Boston shot 47.8% from the floor (48% from deep), while the Cavs shot 46.3% and 42.1% beyond the arc.
After the Cavs scored the first five points to start the third, the Celtics rallied with eight straight points to reclaim a 66-57 lead which led to a J. B. Bickerstaff timeout.
Horford made it an 11-0 run with a three to give Boston its biggest lead of the game 60-57.
Evan Mobley found his groove under the rim, while the Celtics went four minutes without hitting a field goal, which trimmed Boston’s lead to six, 72-66 with 4:24 left in the third.
Pritchard ended the five-minute field goal drought with a three.
Every time the Celtics are close to putting a dagger in the game, the Cavs find an answer to halt the run. Marcus Morris continued his hot hand scoring a three and a deep two, to cut the lead to seven. Morris scored 20 points through three quarters, which was a season-high.
Boston started the quarter strong, but the Cavs finished stronger, cutting the once 13-point lead to seven (85-78) to end the third.
However, to start the fourth, Morris again hit a three to cut the lead to three with 10:57 on the clock. Morris and Mobley combined for 18 of the Cavs last 21 points.
Derrick White hit a big three, his first points in the second half, and then it was Horford who continued his great night with a corner three to make it 96-87. Horford followed his three-pointer with an open layup to score his 19th point making it an 11-point game 98-87 with just over seven minutes left.
After a Garland miss, Tatum pulled up and drilled the dagger three making it 101-87 with 6:44 left.
The 14-point lead didn’t last long as the Cavs got the game back to nine, but Jrue Holiday buried a three to get the lead back to double digits 106-94 with three minutes remaining. Then Holiday was back on the scoreboard with a layup with 2:15 to get it back to 14.
The Celtics now wait for the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers series to wrap up to see who they will host in the Eastern Conference Finals either on Sunday or Tuesday.
