The Boston Celtics are the first team in the 2024 National Basketball Association playoffs to book their ticket to the Conference Finals. On Wednesday, the Celtics dominated the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-98.
The Celtics had balanced scoring throughout game five, as six players reached double figures in points. Power forward Jayson Tatum of St. Louis, Missouri and center Al Horford of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic each had double doubles. Tatum had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Horford had 22 points and 15 rebounds. Meanwhile, guard Derrick White of Parker, Colorado had 18 points, guard Jrue Holiday of Los Angeles, California had 13 points, and small forward Jaylen Brown of Marietta, Georgia and guard Payton Pritchard of Tualatin, Oregon had 11 points each. Pritchard’s 11 points came off the bench.
The first quarter in game five was extremely even as the Celtics and Cavaliers each scored 28 points. The Celtics won the second, third and fourth quarters, and outscored the Cavaliers 85-70 in the process.
The Celtics will now face the winner of the New York Knicks/Indiana Pacers series. This has been a homer series as the home team has won all five of the games to date. New York won games one and two by scores of 121-117 and 130-121. Indiana won game three and four by scores of 111-106 and 121-89. The Knicks then took a 3-2 series lead with a 121-91 win over the Pacers, thanks to 44 points from Jalen Brunson of New Brunswick, New Jersey. Brunson has now had five 40+ point games in the 2024 NBA playoffs and six 40+ playoff games in his career. If the Knicks closeout the series on Friday, they will have to do so Friday in Indianapolis. Otherwise, the series shifts to Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon.
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