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Key Moment
After dropping two consecutive games to the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Celtics coach Brad Stevens challenged his team to bring more defensive intensity out of the gate in Game 5.
It’s safe to say that the players answered his call.
Boston opened the first quarter on an 18-5 run and never looked back en route to a dominant, 111-89 victory.
Jaylen Brown, who was coming off of his worst shooting performance of the Playoffs, set the tone right off the bat with a 3-pointer on Boston’s first possession and wound up leading that 18-5 stretch with seven points over an eight-minute span.
Toronto, meanwhile, only managed to score 11 points during the first quarter, after taking only three minutes to reach that tally in Game 4. It marked the Raptors' lowest-scoring quarter in a playoff game in franchise history, and it was also the lowest-scoring first quarter by any team in the second round or later since at least 1991, according to the Sportradar database (which only goes back to 1991).
Boston capitalized on its game-opening tear, as it built its lead up to as many as 30 points before cruising to a 3-2 series lead.
Key Player
After shooting just 4-of-18 from the field in Game 4 Saturday night, Jaylen Brown bounced back in Game 5 with his best performance of the series thus far.
The fourth-year wing came out of the gate shooting with confidence, as he knocked down Boston's first bucket of the night to set the tone for both himself and for the team. Brown wound up scoring a game-high 27 points, while shooting 10-of-18 shooting from the field, 3-of-7 from 3-point range, and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Brown also tied for the game-high in steals with three and made an impact on the defensive boards, as well, corralling six rebounds. On top of all of that, he finished plus-19 during 37 minutes of action, as the Celtics rode his hot hand all night long.
Box Score Nuggets
- Jaylen Brown led the game in scoring with 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field.
- Jayson Tatum logged the game's only double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
- The Celtics had six players score at least 12 points, while the Raptors only had two such efforts.
- Boston had a 45-36 advantage on the glass.
- The Celtics shot 24-of-27 from the free-throw line. Toronto, meanwhile, only made it to the stripe 13 times.
- Marcus Smart finished with a game-best plus/minus rating of plus-25.
- The Celtics led by as many as 30 points. The Raptors never led once.
- Toronto attempted eight more shots than the Celtics, but made five fewer.
- Both teams combined for only seven second-chance points.
- The Celtics out-scored Toronto in the paint, 48-32.
- Nearly half of Toronto's scoring production came from its bench (44 points).
Quote of the Night
Brad Stevens on his team's bounce-back effort.