After two tough losses on the road that evened their Eastern Conference Finals series at 2-2, the Celtics were able to bounce back in Game 5 in Boston on Wednesday behind rookie Jayson Tatum, who had one of the best performances of his young career as he finished with 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals in a pivotal 96-83 win.
Boston, once again, did it by committee, with five players scoring in double figures for the game, including Al Horford with 15 points and 12 rebounds, Jaylen Brown with 17 points, and Marcus Morris and Marcus Smart, who added 13 points apiece and were a combined 6-of-12 from downtown.
They now have an opportunity to close out the Cavs back in Cleveland on Friday night and complete an improbable Finals run despite being hobbled by injuries to their two main stars.
Jayson Tatum has been showing up in every Playoff game 👏🔥 pic.twitter.com/jqghEf4hZz
— Celtics Direct (@CelticsDirect) May 24, 2018
LeBron led Cleveland with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, but as has been the story for so much of the postseason, he didn’t get much help from his supporting cast, aside from Kevin Love, who added 14 points and seven rebounds.
Despite his usual eye-popping stats, LeBron was visibly exhausted and struggled to connect from distance, going 1-of-6 from three-point range. James appeared so tired, in fact, that the broadcast crew spent a good chunk of the third quarter discussing it.
But it was more than just physical fatigue weighing on LeBron. His body language betrayed a mounting frustration with having to carry such an immense load for his team, and he took an uncharacteristic rest for the first three minutes of the fourth quarter in a scenario he normally would’ve tried to power through.
The Cavs were sloppy from the start, committing five turnovers in the opening quarter, and the Celtics capitalized on that carelessness and raced out to a 17-point first-half lead on six made three-pointers in the first.
Things got chippy in the first half once again, as Marcus Morris was at the center of yet another scrape, this time involving Larry Nance Jr., which resulted in double technicals, as well as a technical foul on Terry Rozier for insinuating himself into the situation.
What did Morris say to Nance?! 👀 https://t.co/uHqcpvv2kR
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) May 24, 2018
The Cavs struggled to make shots all night, particularly from behind the arc where they were just 9-of-34 overall, missing 12 in a row during one stretch. They used a 9-0 run midway through the fourth to cut it to 12, but missed several wide-open opportunities to stage a serious late-game comeback and eventually succumbed to the Celtics’ relentless onslaught.
The Cavs now face elimination in Game 6 on Friday night back at The Q, which tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
