C’s right at home again
Team up to seize 3-2 lead
They watched more film than the crowd at Cannes, and when the Celtics got back out on the floor this week, coach Brad Stevens made them look at little things, like how to hold onto the ball.
Better screening and sharper cuts — areas that were decidedly sloppy during their two losses to the Wizards when the Eastern Conference semifinal series shifted to Washington.
“Five guys on the court were on the same page. We had limited lapses,” Jae Crowder said last night. “That just speaks of how engaged and locked in we were as a unit, from start to finish. That’s one thing we talked about going into it, and you could tell the difference in games — especially in Game 4. We felt like we sharpened up a few things on offense and on defense we stayed aggressive. Got us off to a great start.”
The result was the C’s best game of series, a performance that pushed them to within one win of the next round.
The Celtics won Game 5, 123-101, at the Garden to take a 3-2 series edge and hold serve. The home team has won every game in this matchup, including all four regular-season games.
And this time Isaiah Thomas had someone to relieve him of the scoring burden, courtesy of a career playoff high of 29 points from Avery Bradley. Twentyfive of those points came in the first half.
Up 16 points at halftime, the C’s easily protected the lead the rest of the way, thanks to Al Horford (19 points, seven assists, six rebounds, three blocks) and Crowder (18 points, eight rebounds). Thomas, successfully passing out of double teams, still checked in with 18 points and nine assists.
“We talked about it. Everybody saw it, everybody paid attention to it, obviously, with all the attention he was getting in Washington from them,” Stevens said of Washington’s ability to strip the efficiency out of Thomas’ game. “And I just thought we all came out with a better sense of purpose today than we probably did in those games, but, you know, sometimes you feel a lot better when you make shots at the rate we did. We’ll go back and look at the film and there are areas where we need to improve and get ready for Friday.”
That attention to detail certainly helped the Celtics correct a turnover problem. The C’s only gave away possessions 12 times, for 12 Washington points. It was a far cry from the fuel they poured on John Wall’s fastbreak fire in Games 3 and 4. Last night, the C’s ruled the open court.
Wall had to work a little too hard for his 21 points on 7-for-17 shooting. Bradley, in addition to springing for the big shooting night that included four 3’s, remained Wall’s primary defender.
With Thomas looking to pass out of smothering traps, Bradley ignited early, with 11 of the team’s final 13 points of the first quarter on the way to a 33-21 lead.
The edge jumped to 55-33 midway through the second quarter, when Bradley hit a corner 3 and followed up with a baseline jumper over Marcin Gortat. Bradley added a three-point play and another trey down the second-quarter stretch, and the Celtics led 67-51 at the half.
The Celts didn’t have to be reminded that Washington blew them through the Verizon Center roof with a 26-0 third quarter run in Game 4 that extended to 38-5.
With Thomas more of a role player than lead scorer this time, the rest of the lineup came alive.
“My job was just to figure out what they were doing in Games 3 and 4, not just for myself but for my teammates, and the coaching staff helps me out when I need all the film I need,” Thomas said. “I don’t want to tell you exactly what they were doing or exactly what they were looking for, but I was definitely studying, because I needed to figure out what was going to be open and how I was going to get my teammates involved, because I need those guys.”