Bradley sparks Boston to a 3-2 lead

Horford, Thomas also star as Celtics near series clincher.

Avery Bradley scored a playoff career-high 29 points as the Boston Celtics beat the visiting Washington Wizards 123-101 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

A l H o r f o r d a d d e d 1 9 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Isaiah Thomas was also active, scoring 18 points and handing out nine assists.

Game 6 is Friday night in Washington, where the Wizards easily won their t wo games. If the Celtics win, they would move on to host the Cleveland Cavaliers to open the Eastern Conference finals.

Game 7 would be in Boston on Monday.

Boston led by as many as 26 points, negating Washing- ton’s physicality by spreading the floor and knocking down 16 3-pointers.

John Wall had 21 for the Wizards, who haven’t won a playoff game in Boston since 1982.

The Wizards scored the first four points of game, but that was followed by 16-0 run by the Celtics.

It marked the fourth time in the series that one team has had a run of at least 16-0, including three times in the first quarter. Washington had a 16-0 spurt to start Game 1, a 22-0 run in Game 3 and 26-0 burst in Game 4.

During Boston’s first-quarter spurt Wednesday, the Wizards missed eight straight shots before it was ended by Otto Porter’s basket.

Boston also did a good job of sharing the ball, getting assists on 12 of 13 baskets in the opening 12 minutes. Thomas had five assists, more than Washing ton’s entire team (four) in the period.

The Wizards responded with more energy after halftime, but each of their miniruns were quickly beaten back by Boston, which continued to share the ball and take advantage of their fast break opportunities.

The Celtics’ lead grew to 26 points in the fourth quarter.

Wednesday marked only the third time Bradley has scored 20 or more points in a playoff game. The first two both came against Chicago in the first round.

Before the game, Thomas was fined $25,000 for inappropriate language toward a fan during the Game 4 loss at Washington.

Spurs: After injuring his right ankle Tuesday night, K a wh i L e o n a r d s a i d h e expects to play in Game 6 against Houston.

After Leonard got hurt, Danny Green (16 points) and the supporting cast stepped up to beat James Harden and the Rockets 110-107 in overtime for a 3-2 lead in the West series.

Harden had 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He had a chance at a potential t ying 3-pointer in the f i n a l s e c o n d s o f OT b u t was blocked from behind by Manu Ginobili.

Wa r r i o r s : T h e t e a m agreed to a two-year lease extension to remain at Oracle Arena in Oakland before a planned move to San Francisco for the 2019-20 season.