Celtics start fast, seize series lead
With big 1st half, they put champs on ropes
The game plan from Celtics coach Brad Stevens was simple: Start things off with an increased effort on defense to set an immediate tone.
The Celtics did exactly as he asked — and put the reigning NBA champions on the ropes.
Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and the third-seeded Celtics never trailed, rolling past the secondseeded Raptors 111-89 in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Monday night at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
The Celtics now lead the series 3-2 and can earn a trip to the East finals on Wednesday.
Kemba Walker scored 21 for the Celtics, whose starters outscored the Raptors’ starters by a whopping 93-45. Jayson Tatum scored 18, Daniel Theis and Brad Wanamaker each had 15 and Marcus Smart added 12 for the Celtics.
Fred VanVleet scored 18 for the Raptors, who trailed by as many as 30. Norman Powell scored 16 for the Raptors, while Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry managed 10 points apiece.
Here’s what the Raptors got out of their first 18 possessions: five points on 2-for-15 shooting, a stretch that included everything from missed open layups to airballed contested jumpers, along with five turnovers in the game’s first 8:53.
They were down 18-5 after all that, and it got worse in a hurry.
Another big scoring run — this time, 23-7 — in the second quarter pushed the Celtics’ lead from 37-25 to 60-32 late in the half. The Raptors had gone 5-for-6 from the field just before that spurt began and seemed to be getting in a rhythm; but they missed 11 of their next 13 shots.
The Raptors outscored the Celtics 28-25 in the third and it already didn’t matter; the Celtics’ lead was 87-63 going into the fourth.
Bucks play waiting game: The
Bucks will play another day.
They’re waiting to see if reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo will join them.
It’s still a dire situation for the team that had the league’s best regular-season record this season — they’re down 3-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals to the eighthseeded Heat, with another win-orgo-home test awaiting in Game 5 on Tuesday night.
And they don’t know if Antetokounmpo, who sprained his right ankle in Game 3 and then again in Game 4, will be ready.
“There’s hope,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We’re not ruling him out, so I guess until he’s ruled out you have hope. He’s going to do everything he can.”
Antetokounmpo was with the Bucks for their light practice Monday. He got treatment on the ankle, then left wearing a protective boot over his right foot — a standard practice with sprains.