The Celtics finished the series 4-1 and will face the winner between Cleveland and Orlando. Mavericks take the lead
Boston wins by a landslide over Miami and concludes the series by defeating the Heat 4-1. In the second round of the playoffs, it will face the winner of the Cleveland-Orlando match, now 3-2 for the Cavaliers. Dallas won in a landslide in Los Angeles, at home to the Clippers, extending a 3-2 lead, and Game 6 of the West's first-round playoff series will be played at Texas from 3:30 a.m. tonight between Friday and Saturday. That's the double take on the NBA's challenges on the night, details below.
Boston Celtics – Miami Heat 118-84 (4-1 in series)
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As easy as a walk in the park. The Celtics, ranked No. 1 in the East, beat the Heat, No. 8, in Game 5 and advance to the second round of the playoffs. The absence of Latvian great Chris Porzingis, who injured his right calf in Game 4, the same injury that kept Giannis Antetokounmpo out of these playoffs, does not affect Boston's attendance. We'll see if that's a factor tomorrow against future Eastern Conference opponents. Meanwhile, this time enough is enough and old Horford takes his place, and this time the Heat don't even tickle the team that finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA, 64-18. For Boston, it's an approaching stage on the road to greater ambitions. However, in the meantime, the Garden crowd is singing a mocking song and applauding a Heat team that was sent on vacation, in retaliation for their elimination in the 2023 conference final. For Miami, this is the end of the season. In the regular season he struggled more than expected, was inconsistent, finishing with a 46-36 record, and then in play he lost Jimmy Butler, the man of the franchise, to injury. And with both he and Terry Rozier out against Boston, he never had a chance. In fact, he has already pulled off a near-miracle by winning an away match. It is impossible to evaluate it, it is very weak. Naturally, reinforcements will be needed in the summer, especially under the basket.
the match
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Horford starts at No. 5 in place of Porzingis, as a starting position for those in green. Wright is in coach Spoelstra's top five with Jaquez also out. So Miami is without three starters: Butler, Rozier and, in fact, the redshirt freshman. Boston scores 41 points in the first quarter and closes the game outright. The Heat's defense was unable to contain coach Mazzola's attack, and then the owners of the Garden (56-29) took dramatic control of the rebound. Little by little, there is no story. With 9'40″ left to play in the fourth quarter, Tatum sits on the bench and will never return: the game and the series are already secure. Boston also leads by 37 points, then wins by 34, and its largest margin of victory in the playoffs remains 40 points, dating back to 1982.
Boston: Brown/White 25, Hauser 17. Rembalzi: Tatum 12. Assists: Holiday 5.
Miami: Adebayo 23 (9/23, 1/3, 2/2), Herro 15, Martin/Bryant 10. Rembalze: Jovic 7. Assist: Adebayo 6.
Los Angeles Clippers – Dallas Mavericks 93-123 (2-3 in series)
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Doncic, Doncic very hard. The Slovenian, the NBA's leading scorer this season, is raging in Los Angeles. Hurricane Luca. He scored 35 points, including 14 in the critical third quarter, grabbed 7 rebounds, and dished out 10 assists, leading the Mavs to a comfortable Game 5 win. Dallas leads 3-2 in the series, according to Mortgage. On to the numbers: The team that wins the fifth game in the series by a score of 2-2 historically wins it 81.7% of the time (188-42 so far). Dallas looks younger, more active and more intense in Crypto.com Arena than the hosts. More from the team. And with the best player on the field, the big boy from Ljubljana. The stars, now more virtual than real, fail. Harden, George, and Westbrook are a disaster this time. It looks old and worn out. Outdated, even. Los Angeles' pure star, Kawhi Leonard, is sitting on the bench, dressed in black, like a mood, and a hat on his head. She was injured in the right knee, for which she underwent surgery on the cross. Maybe out of scope for the series. Mann and Zubac are the best for Coach Lu this time: it's not enough, it can't be enough. Not when Harden is shooting 2/12 for 7 points, Westbrook is 2/11 for 6 points and George is 4/13 for 15 points. The worst gap ever in a franchise playoff loss. The Clippers are making history, but the other way around
the match
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Kofi is in the quintet as a replacement for Leonard. 25-24 Dallas at the end of the first quarter: Doncic with 8 points, and an excellent exit from Lively from Coach Kidd's bench. 8 points from Zubac, his best: not a good sign. Three Clipper 3-pointers put Dallas up +8, then 56-46 at halftime. Doncic with 15 points, Westbrook 0/5 and Harden 2/9 shooting 5 points in total. “Huge” nine straight points by Doncic makes it 71-50 because the Clippers don't score for more than 5 minutes in a row. Jones' dunk also arrived: 73-50. Knockout, Dallas 14-0 closes out the game and extends the series. The first match point will be played at home within 48 hours. Doncic wants more: “The work is not finished yet, we have to win another job.” If he played like this…
Angels: Zubac/George 15, Powell 14. Rembalzi: George 11. Assists: Harden 7.
Dallas: Doncic 35 (12/18, 2/8, 5/5), Clipper 15, Irving/Hardy 14. Rembalzi: Doncic/Lively 7. Assists: Doncic 10.
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