Led by the inevitable greatness of Al Horford, the Boston Celtics wrapped up their Round 2 series against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night with a 113-93 victory in Game 5. Horford stole the show, going back and forth with an electric TD Garden crowd all night.
Here are three things you might have missed from the game.
1. Jaylen Brown’s decision-making
For as great as Horford was, and he was amazing, Jaylen Brown and the rest of the Celtics stepped up when it mattered most, too.
Brown only took nine shots in Game 5, but that was a product of his elite decision-making, which is perfectly embodied by this sweet dump-off to Horford under the basket.
So many times in the past, Brown would have risen up for a contested layup. And maybe he would have made it. But to have the composure to slow down, see Horford, and make the read shows how much he’s grown over the years.
2. Joe Mazzulla’s perspective on winning
After the victory, I asked Mazzulla about his idea of “whatever it takes,” that every game and every series will require something different from the Celtics if they want to earn a victory, and how they need to be ready to embrace that.
His response was perfect.
“Everybody wants to win until it’s really time to win because then you got to nut up and do a bunch of s*** that you don’t want to do,” Mazzulla said. “So, the guys, credit to them. They consistently do that. And we just have to keep that up.
“Every game’s gonna be different. Every series is gonna be different, regardless of who we play, it’s gonna be different. Sub patterns, different matchups, different lineups. Just gotta do it. And the guys get it, so credit to them.”
3. Loudest TD Garden crowd of the playoffs
Through the first two rounds of the postseason, the crowds at TD Garden has been pretty underwhelming. It felt like their hearts weren’t fully in it.
But Game 5 was different.
Thanks to Horford, the crowd was fully engaged. It was the loudest the building has been throughout the playoffs, and hopefully, for the Celtics’ sake, they only build on it from here on out.
