Celtics crush Heat in Game 5 to advance to second round of NBA Playoffs

BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics did not mess around Wednesday night, blowing out the Miami Heat 118-84 in Game 5 to win their opening-round playoff series, 4-1. The Celtics will now enjoy a few days off before the Eastern Conference semis come to Boston.

Close-out games have been an issue for the Celtics over the last two postseasons, but they had absolutely no issues Wednesday night. The ball was moving and shots were falling, especially from downtown, as Boston raced out to a 41-23 lead after the first quarter. The Celtics took control early, rattling off a 13-0 run and hitting seven straight threes at one point in the first, and never looked back.

The Celtics hit eight of their 14 threes in the opening frame, with five of them coming off the fingertips of Derrick White. He scored 15 points in the first quarter and finished the game with 25 points.

Jaylen Brown also had 25 points for Boston while Jayson Tatum added 16 points and 12 rebounds. Al Horford got the start in place of the injured Kristaps Porzingis, and had 8 points and 6 rebounds for the Celtics.

Boston absolutely dominated the three-point line, shooting 16-for-40 from deep. Miami was just 3-for-29 from downtown. 

The Celtics led by as many as 30 in the first half before a sloppy finish to the second quarter had their lead down to 22 at halftime. Boston came out firing in the second half though, and a 10-0 run had their lead back up in the 30s. The win was never in doubt, which was refreshing coming from the Celtics in a close-out game.

The C's failed to close out their opening-round series with the Atlanta Hawks last postseason when they dropped Game 5 of the set at TD Garden, forcing a Game 6 back in Atlanta. It started a disappointing trend for the Celtics on their home floor, as they stumbled to a 5-6 record at home during the playoffs, including three home losses to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. 

That was not the case this time as the Celtics got some sweet revenge and annihilated the Heat to move on to the second round. Boston is now on to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the seventh time in the last eight seasons, where they'll face the winner of the Cleveland Cavaliers-Orlando Magic series. The Cavaliers are up 3-2 heading into Friday night's Game 6 in Orlando.

Should the Cavaliers win on Friday night, Game 1 between the Celtics and the Cavs will reportedly be Sunday afternoon in Boston. The Celtics would get to enjoy a few extra days off if the Magic are able to extend their series and force a Game 7 on Sunday, with Game 1 getting pushed to Tuesday at TD Garden in that scenario.

The Celtics went 2-1 against both the Cavaliers and the Magic during the regular season.