Sam Cassell, Celtics
110-85 win vs Hawks
13 pts, 6-8 FG

Caron Butler, Wizards
88-87 win at Cavaliers
32 pts, 11-22 FG, 4-8 3-pt FG, 6-7 FT

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cavaliers
88-87 loss vs Wizards
19 pts, 8-11 FG, 3-4 FT

LeBron James scored 34 points – including 24 in the second half – on Wednesday tying his total from a game earlier. The MVP candidate also added 10 rebounds and seven assists in Game 5 to become the first player since Larry Bird in 1984 to notch a 30-point, 10-rebound and seven-assist performance in back-to-back playoff games. James also added two blocks and one steal for good measure.

Joe Smith, Cavaliers
88-87 loss vs Wizards
1 pts, 0-6 FG, 1-2 FT

Antawn Jamison, Wizards
88-87 win at Cavaliers
8 pts, 3-10 FG, 1-3 3-pt FG, 1-4 FT

Brendan Haywood, Wizards
88-87 win at Cavaliers
4 pts, 1-6 FG

Despite back-to-back blowouts, no first round series has been more fiercely competitive than Cleveland-Washington. It feels like the series – or maybe just the talking – has been winding up for weeks. Both, luckily, will live on for at least one more game after the Wizards escaped Cleveland with an 88-87 win on Wednesday. With Gilbert Arenas now out for the playoffs and Antawn Jamison struggling, Caron Butler was forced to shoulder the load. Butler scored 32 points, but watched as the final minute ticked down and Cleveland clung to a one-point lead. LeBron James, who scored 24 of his game-high 34 points in the second half, dribbled out most of the shot clock at the top of the key before deferring to teammates, but both their shots rimmed out. On the next possession, Butler had his shot and took it right at James for the game-winning lay-up with 3.9 seconds to go.

Before their first round series started, the Boston Celtics weren’t supposed to have any trouble with the Hawks. On Wednesday, they showed why. The Celtics gave up nearly 100 points a game in the two losses in Atlanta, but held the Hawks to just 85 points in Game 5. Joe Johnson, who scored a playoff career-high 35 points on Monday, racked up 21 points, while Josh Smith and Al Horford mustered 18 and 14 apiece. Mike Bibby’s struggles in Boston continued with just six points and one assist. Paul Pierce led Boston’s Big Three with 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Kevin Garnett added 20 points and Ray Allen scored 19, while all three rested for much of the fourth quarter. After the Hawks took two games in Atlanta, Boston cruised to a 110-85 victory back at the Garden and the series now heads back to Philips Arena with neither team taking a road game.

Talk at the start of the season was that Rajon Rondo might be the weak link in the C’s new lineup. He answered those questions on the court, but Boston brought in Sam Cassell in case playoff jitters caught up with the second-year point guard. Well now the Celtics have two guys to efficiently run the floor. With Rondo resting on the bench, the veteran stepped in to score 13 points in just 15 minutes on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor.

Rookie of the Year candidate Al Horford has been making big plays all season. Now the former-Gator has brought a champion’s swagger to Atlanta, as the Hawks have given the Celtics much more than they bargained for to this point. Horford posted his fourth double-double of the series on Wednesday with 14 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five assists. We find out Thursday if Horford’s heart was enough to grab Rookie of the Year honors.

What exactly constitutes a Cool/Clutch Performance? Is it scoring a career playoff-high 32 points in an elimination game against the team that has knocked you out of the playoffs for two straight seasons? Is it scoring 16 second-half points, including the game-winner in LeBron James’ face? Maybe. Or maybe it is having the all-out guts to psych out Mr. Fourth Quarter by whispering, “Miss this shot,” in his ear with 3.9 seconds to go.