Jaylen Brown and Derrick White every scored 25 factors and the Boston Celtics superior to the Japanese Convention semifinals, beating the shorthanded Miami Warmth 118-84 in Sport 5 on Wednesday evening.
Boston will face the winner of the Cleveland Cavaliers-Orlando Magic sequence. The Cavaliers lead 3-2, with Sport 6 in Orlando on Friday evening.
Brown additionally had six assists, and White hit 5 3-pointers. Sam Hauser added 17 factors and Jayson Tatum had 16 factors and 12 rebounds, The highest-seeded Celtics by no means trailed and led by 35 factors. In addition they obtained a measure of revenge a yr after the Warmth routed them in Sport 7 of the convention finals in Boston.
Bam Adebayo scored 23 factors and Tyler Herro had 15 for Miami, which made its first exit from the playoffs previous to the convention finals since 2021. The Warmth struggled all through, going 3 of 29 from 3-point vary.
Boston performed for the primary time this postseason with out middle Kristaps Porzingis after he strained his proper calf within the Celtics’ Sport 4 victory. His teammates stuffed within the gaps, because the Celtics’ lead reached 30 factors within the first half.
Boston exploited a Warmth workforce that was essentially the most injured it’d been within the sequence. Jaime Jaquez Jr. sat out after struggling a hip damage in Sport 4. He was changed within the lineup by Delon Wright, marking the thirty seventh beginning 5 the Warmth used this season. Jaquez joined Jimmy Butler (knee) and Terry Rozier (neck), who had each been sidelined because the begin of the sequence.
It made for distinctive rotations for Miami, which included veteran Patty Mills logging minutes for simply the third time within the sequence.
[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]
Boston seized on the vulnerabilities within the Warmth’s protection, spreading them out and pulling down eight 3-pointers within the opening interval. It helped the Celtics carry an 18-point lead into the second quarter.
The spotlight of the opening 12 minutes got here courtesy of White, who pulverized Miami from lengthy distance with eight 3s in Sport 4. He stayed on the assault early Wednesday, faking a 3-point try after which driving in for an uncontested one-handed dunk.
White performed to the house crowd afterward, holding his hand in entrance of his face as he backpedaled up the courtroom. After the Warmth known as a timeout, a courtside fan close to the Celtics’ bench may very well be seen pantomiming fanning White on the sideline.
Reporting by The Related Press.
Jaylen Brown
Boston Celtics
Miami Warmth
Get extra from Nationwide Basketball Affiliation Observe your favorites to get details about video games, information and extra