POST GAME WASHINGTON - HOME - PLAYOFF - 2ND ROUND - GAME 5

Avery Bradley torches the Wizards, leads Celtics to brink of Eastern finals

WEEI

By Mike Petraglia

Avery Bradley lit the fuse Wednesday and the Celtics exploded in the faces of Washington Wizards.

In a relentless display of up-tempo, transition basketball and long-range sharp shooting, the Celtics ran the Wizards into oblivion Wednesday night, 123-101, in Game 5 at TD Garden to take a 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Celtics can close out the Wizards and advance to the Eastern finals against LeBron James and the Cavaliers with a win Friday in Game 6 in Washington.

With the likes of Patriots coach Bill Belichick, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Julian Edelman and LeGarrette Blount in attendance courtside, the Celtics were intent on returning the haymakers the Wizards delivered in Games 3 and 4. They didn’t disappoint, and it was Bradley doing most of the damage. Bradley had a new career playoff high by halftime and finished with 29 points, taking a lot of pressure off Isaiah Thomas, who came out with four minutes left and finished with 18 points and nine assists. Al Horford chipped in with 19 points and seven assists.  Marcus Smart was the biggest contributor off the bench with nine points, 11 rebounds and six assists.

It wasn’t just offense either. John Wall (21 points) and Bradley Beal (16) struggled badly from the field, combining to connect on just 14-of-36 shots.

The Celtics continued the home dominance between the two teams this season. Including four regular season games, the home team has now captured all nine meetings by an average of 15 points per game. The Wizards will have to hold serve Friday just to force a Game 7 next Monday in Boston.

The last two games featured the sight of Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford on the bench, sitting in stunned silence, watching as the Celtics were blown out of the building. On this night, it was John Wall and Bradley Beal who spent most of the fourth quarter on the bench staring at the jumbotron, as the Celtics built their lead to 26.

The Celtics were again blistering from beyond the arc, draining 15 of their first 29 long-distance field goals. They finished 16-of-33 from deep.

In a dramatic flip of the script, the Celtics were the ones who went on a massive run that provided separation. And they did it in the first quarter, no less. After allowing the Wizards to score the first four points of the game, the Celtics responded with the next 16 to take a 16-4 lead.

Bradley was monstrous in the first quarter, hitting 6-of-8 from the field and scoring 14 points in the opening period. Bradley was the key to the Celtics in transition in the first, as he scored 9 of his 14 points before the Wizards could get back, three of them coming on dunks.

The Celtics outscored the Wizards, 13-0, in transition as the took a stranglehold of the game. The Celtics led 33-21 after 12 minutes and this time they didn’t allow a 12-point lead to immediately wither away like they did in Game 4.

Jae Crowder’s three from the right wing put the Celtics up 18, 41-23, with 9:51 left in the second quarter. Crowder banked in a three with seven minutes left in the quarter to give the Celtics a 48-26 lead.

(For a full box score, click here.)

As was the case with Kelly Olynyk in Game 4 in D.C., the crowd waited for Kelly Oubre to come into the game so they could chant his name. He made one of two free throws with 9:30 left in the first half as the Wizards struggled to get back into the game. Oubre was making a return to the series after being suspended for Game 4 after his charge at Olynyk that knocked the Celtics’ big to the ground.

After an Al Horford put-back of a Thomas miss with 5:08 left in the first half, Horford flexed his muscles. That bucket gave the Celtics a 50-33 lead. Bradley followed with a left baseline three that put the Celtics up 20, 53-33, with four and a half minutes left in the first half. An Amir Johnson block led to another transition score, as Bradley hit a fallaway baseline jumper to stake the Celtics to a 55-33 lead.

The Wizards drew briefly to within 15 before Bradley hit his fourth three-ball of the half, giving him 25 points at the break and leading the Celtics to a 67-51 lead. The 25 points was already a playoff career high. The 67 points was the most any team had scored in the playoffs to this point.

The Wizards got as close as 13 on an Otto Porter basket with 6:35 left in the third. But Al Horford’s three with 1:35 left in the quarter pushed the lead back to 20, 92-72. With the Celtics up, 93-73, Marcus Smart was called for a touch foul on Ian Mahinmi with 1.6 seconds left, allowing the big man to hit three free throws and help the Wizards close to within 17, 93-76, entering the fourth.

Through three quarters, Isaiah Thomas, with just 10 points, had taken just seven field goal attempts and was the fourth-leading scorer among the starters, behind Bradley (29), Horford (19) and Crowder (18).

If the Celtics can’t close it out on Friday night in Washington, they will return home for a Game 7 Monday night at 8 p.m. at TD Garden. If they win Friday, the Celtics will host the Eastern Conference finals opener Monday night, also at 8 p.m. at TD Garden.
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Bradley steps up as Celtics handily beat Wizards in Game 5, 123-101

CSNNE

By A. Sherrod Blakely May 10, 2017 10:29 PM

BOSTON – Home cooking continues to be a recipe for success in this Boston-Washington playoff series, with the Celtics putting together their best all-around performance in handily defeating the Wizards, 123-101.

Boston now leads the best-of-seven series 3-2 with a chance to advance to the Eastern Conference finals with a Game 6 win.

But you have to believe there will be a Game 7 back in Boston considering the home team has won each of the first five games by double figures.

And it was the Celtic who has been with the franchise the longest time, Avery Bradley, leading the way.

In addition to playing strong defense most of the night against John Wall, Bradley had a playoff career-high 29 points which is also the most points the veteran guard has scored at the TD Garden.

510_celtics_up_3-2.png

Bradley’s big-time scoring night was huge, as it took a tremendous amount of pressure off Boston’s leading scorer, Isaiah Thomas.

For most of the game, Thomas seemed more concerned with finding teammates for scores rather than getting his own scoring on track. He finished with a near double-double of 18 points and nine assists.

As well as the Celtics played, there was a sense that at any moment the Wizards would get going and climb their way back into the game.

Washington has been a team of runs throughout this series, so you kind of figured at some point they would put a surge of significance together.

Not tonight.

Give the Celtics credit.

Every time the Wizards would string a couple of baskets together, one of two things happened: Brad Stevens would call a time-out to settle his group down, or they would take things into their own hands and find a way to get back on track with big stops defensive on the perimeter and at the rim, not to mention timely shots from players besides Isaiah Thomas.

Indeed, Thomas got a huge helping hand from his teammates who unlike Games 3 and 4 – both Boston losses – were far more aggressive at attacking the Wizards’ defense.

No one embodied this new mindset more than Bradley who had a playoff career-high 25 points by halftime.

He continued to be a problem for the Wizards at both ends of the floor, but he wasn’t alone.

Jae Crowder had a nice first half with 14 points, but was even more valuable helping out on the boards. Crowder was trending towards a double-double before finishing with 18 points and eight rebounds.

Teammate Al Horford was giving the Wizards the business in several categories, finishing with 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds. He became only the third Celtics player (Paul Pierce and Larry Bird were the others) to tally at least six rebounds, seven or more assists and three or more blocked shots in a playoff game.

Meanwhile, Wall and Bradley Beal led the way for the Wizards with 21 and 16 points, respectively.

The Celtics got off to their best start in this series with a 13-4 run to open the game. Boston would lead by as many as 15 points in the first before settling on a 33-21 lead.

Boston’s control continued throughout the second quarter as they continued to push ahead with their lead peaking at 48-26 after Jae Crowder banked in a 3-pointer.

At the half, Boston had a comfortable 67-51 lead.

112288

WHEN YOU BUILD A LEAD.........KEEP IT!

Key shooting at key times during the game made this win possible.

Bradley............Crowder...............YES KO all hit big time shots to maintain or increase the margin!

112288

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2017/05/boston_celtics_washington_wiza_19.html



Al Horford, Avery Bradley help Boston Celtics roll Washington Wizards in Game 5, 123-101

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Posted on May 10, 2017 at 10:30 PM
Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas, center, is trapped by Washington Wizards forward Markieff Morris (5) on a drive to the basket during the first quarter of Game 5 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series in Boston, Wednesday, May 10, 2017.
Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas, center, is trapped by Washington Wizards forward Markieff Morris (5) on a drive to the basket during the first quarter of Game 5 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series in Boston, Wednesday, May 10, 2017. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
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BY JAY KING



BOSTON -- Al Horford flexed. Avery Bradley celebrated an and-one like never before. The Boston Celtics staggered into Game 5, but conquered the Washington Wizards from the start of the critical contest.

After dropping back-to-back contests on the road, the Celtics needed a win to restore order, confidence, and a series lead. They had been blasted by the Wizards during successive games in D.C., but reversed the story line -- and maybe the entire series -- by stampeding through the first quarter of a 123-101 win and refusing to fade.

The Wizards have sold out to stop Thomas, so the Celtics responded by freeing up everybody else. It wasn't as simple as "his teammates just made shots this time;" the Celtics used Thomas' power to command attention in new ways, old ways, every way they could. One wrinkle they used to great effect: Horford-Thomas pick-and-rolls, with Thomas as the screener. The Wizards refuse to leave the star guard's body, and Horford benefited with clean looks.

ADVERTISING

Thomas (18 points, nine assists, 5-for-13 shooting) was mature in taking what the Wizards gave him, but the rest of the Celtics needed to be great. Avery Bradley set a new career playoff high with 25 of his 29 points before halftime, and was huge in turning the tide of Washington's big starts. Horford (19 points, seven assists, six rebounds) swatted away shots inside, orchestrated offense for everyone, and made his first six shots. Amir Johnson helped protect the rim, Jae Crowder bounced back with 18 points and eight rebounds, and the young guys off the bench -- led by Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart -- all made an impact. The defense stood up, finally limiting John Wall (21 points, four assists, 7-for-17 shooting), Bradley Beal (16 points, 7-for-19 shooting) and the Washington starters.


In their fifth try this series, the Celtics finally struck the first blow, with a 16-0 run early in the first. Minutes later, Amir Johnson slammed home an alley-oop from Thomas and the TD Garden crowd roared in appreciation of the 20-8 lead. There were warning signs like four early turnovers and four early Wizards offensive rebounds, but the Celtics never let Washington back into the game.

They dominated transition early, then went small, fast and supremely young to take advantage of Washington's bench. Rozier forced Brandon Jennings into some plays he would have preferred to avoid. Kelly Olynyk roamed off Ian Mahinmi to lift the defense. Jaylen Brown's long arms made an impact, Smart (nine points, 11 rebounds, six assists) helped in his typically atypical fashion, and Crowder drilled a couple of 3-pointers, including one bank job that made head coach Brad Stevens smile on the bench.

The Wizards brought plenty of energy and execution early in the third quarter, but the Celtics responded to every threat. Crowder cut like a tiger was chasing him. Horford was dynamite from inside and out. Bradley has rarely, if ever, been better. The crowd grew crazier as the game progressed, chanting things at Kelly Oubre Jr. that young children shouldn't hear.


Game 5 turned into a celebration, and the Celtics have earned a chance to claim the series Friday.


bob


.

Avery with the HUGE game.  29 points on 12-19, 4-7 from 3, 6 rebounds and great defense on Wall all game.  Never let Wall get going.

Horford with a great all-round game.  He was shooting very well, 8-9, and had 3 blocks.  A real glue game.  BobC called it "a Walton game" on the Game On thread.  Right, Bob?

Smart is hurting.  I don't know what it is but you could see he was playing hurt.  Still, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 0 TOs.  3-7 shooting and I can definitely live with that from him.

Brown got 26 minutes.  Not a great night.  He was 0-3 but his defense on Bogie was really good for most of it.  Bogie is his designated man, it seems.

Rozier and Kelly are the other 2 bench players Brad went with not including garbage time.  Both good.  Rozier with sticky defense on Wall when Bradley was sitting and Kelly with 2 blocks at the rim, a steal and 3-5 shooting.

HUGE win.  HUGE.  Really puts Washington in a pressure cooker.  Every game from now on is a 7th game for them.  I won't say they needed this game but it really makes the mountain a little bit higher for them since they must win in Boston and now they only have one shot left and it will not be easy and they will have to expend a lot of emotion to survive to game 7.


http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400952530


bob


.

New post by sinus007 Today at 9:42 pm

Hi,
Everyone played as if there's no tomorrow. Exactly as doctor prescribed.
I hope Celtics will do the same on Fri.

AK

Every time Celtic fans talk about trading Bradley, he bounces back.
Just like in the Bulls series.

Ok Fierce. I'll say Bradley definitely needs to be traded now that his market value is up. Before Friday. (Let's hope he performs great again as a result).

worcester wrote:Ok Fierce. I'll say Bradley definitely needs to be traded now that his market value is up. Before Friday. (Let's hope he performs great again as a result).

I think Bradley will not be traded if the Celts will be able to sign Hayward.

The Celts are going to need Bradley if they have Hayward.

Guys like Crowder, Rozier, and Zeller will be trade bait.

Reason why I think Rozier will be traded is because he will always be the 3rd PG on the depth chart.

If the Celts get Markelle Fultz, Celts will have Thomas, Fultz, Smart, and Bradley at the guard positions.

Rozier does not deserve to be a backup PG.
He can be a starter on another team.

Yes BobH I definitely thought Horford had a "Walton in his prime" type of game. For some reason in the third quarter I decided to focus on Al and not follow the ball. He simply made every move on both ends of the court as if John Wooden was whispering in his ear what was coming and what to do. Fundamentally sound basketball at its best!

Amir Johnson helped set the tone early

Horford's game and defense was unbelievable tonite, whole team played great, was best defensive game ever by KO and Jaylen was flying around playing good D too. I'd say team grew up tonite and best game I ever saw from this team. What can you say about Avery? he played the game of his life. Everybody played great and hard and together, whole team was flying around all over the place tonite. Was best defense this team has played, Avery just took out Wall from the get go. Then Rozier came in and stayed in front of Wall too and Smart was in his face.....he had a tough night. Obviously its great team could hit such a high level at home on this stage, team grew up this playoff. Amir had a career game too, what a great dunk !!!

First of all, I apologize for the duplication of Post-Game threads.  I got a little excited after the game and wanted to put my thoughts down quickly.  From now on I won't start the thread until next day, if it doesn't exist already.

John Wall with another straight up block in the paint last night, this one on Jae Crowder from 8-10'.  I have never been so impressed with Wall's defense as I have been this series.  Last game he blocked Marcus Smart in the low blocks from point-blank and few players can do that.

And now, an homage to Al Horford:

These two points by Al Horford happened because the smallest player on the floor picked the biggest player on the floor.
https://twitter.com/ByJayKing/status/862558264466321408/photo/1


Tom Halzack @TomHalzack
about 9 hours ago
Al Horford play-off stat line after tonight: 61.8% FG, 53.8% from 3 pt line, 88.2 FT, 15.5 pts. 6 assts.
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Jared Weiss‏Verified account
@JaredWeissNBA

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Al Horford had a 1.006% true shooting percentage in Game 5. I don’t know how to comprehend that.

True Shooting Percentage = Points / (2 * (FG Attempts + 0.44 * FT Attempts)).  It is an attempt to judge scoring efficiency.  So, a 3pt fga/fgm will increase your true shooting percentage over a 2pt fga/fgm because you get more points for the same number of fgas.  


Tom Halzack @TomHalzack
about 9 hours ago
If Horford's stat line/overall game isn't an advertisement for another big time FA this summer, what is? Who WOULDN'T want to play w/him ?
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Put simply, Horford was off the charts last night offensively and he was a stopper on defense.  Atlanta Hawk fans are wondering why they never saw this Playoff Al in all the years he was there.


Chris Forsberg‏Verified account
@ESPNForsberg

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Al Horford repeatedly praised Jaylen Brown’s efforts in Game 5. Brown marveled at being able to contribute to a playoff team as a rookie.




Bill Doyle @BillDoyle15
yesterday
Brad Stevens: I had no idea that Avery had 25 at halftime and Isaiah had 1 FG because we were playing the right way.
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Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
Stevens: Biggest stat is the 33-11 assist to turnover ratio.
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MY NOTE:  This was, as many of you will remember, Sam's favorite stat, and he was a professional statistician for 50 years.


Chris Forsberg‏Verified account
@ESPNForsberg

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With Celtics about to go up 3-2 over Wizards, how BPI sees the series from here:




bob


.

I was only joking about trading Avery after last night's performance, since when I did before he responded with a superb game. I heard that Avery's wife told him he wasn't playing well, that he needed to be more aggressive and step it up. That certainly worked. I'm wondering if she pulled a reverse Lysistrata on him and denied him sex until he was a real warrior on the court.

Wikipedia - (/laɪˈsɪstrətə/ or /ˌlɪsəˈstrɑːtə/; Attic Greek: Λυσιστράτη, "Army Disbander") is a comedy by Aristophanes. Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BCE, it is a comic account of a woman's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian War by denying all the men of the land any sex, which was the only thing they truly and deeply desired. Lysistrata persuades the women of Greece to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands and lovers as a means of forcing the men to negotiate peace—a strategy, however, that inflames the battle between the sexes. The play is notable for being an early exposé of sexual relations in a male-dominated society. Additionally, its dramatic structure represents a shift from the conventions of Old Comedy, a trend typical of the author's career.[2] It was produced in the same year as the Thesmophoriazusae, another play with a focus on gender-based issues, just two years after Athens' catastrophic defeat in the Sicilian Expedition. At this time, Greek theatre was a profound form of entertainment, which was extremely popular for all audiences as it addressed political issues relevant to that time.

fierce wrote:Every time Celtic fans talk about trading Bradley, he bounces back.
Just like in the Bulls series.

Was thinking the same thing...Truth is, the guy should be all defensive first team, is a border-line allstar, and, by all accounts is a good teachable dude who provides locker room stability. AND, he makes "only" 8.2 Million next year. Next to IT's contract, this might be the biggest bargain in the nba.

worcester wrote:I was only joking about trading Avery after last night's performance, since when I did before he responded with a superb game. I heard that Avery's wife told him he wasn't playing well, that he needed to be more aggressive and step it up.  That certainly worked. I'm wondering if she pulled a reverse Lysistrata on him and denied him sex until he was a real warrior on the court.

Wikipedia - (/laɪˈsɪstrətə/ or /ˌlɪsəˈstrɑːtə/; Attic Greek: Λυσιστράτη, "Army Disbander") is a comedy by Aristophanes. Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BCE, it is a comic account of a woman's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian War by denying all the men of the land any sex, which was the only thing they truly and deeply desired. Lysistrata persuades the women of Greece to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands and lovers as a means of forcing the men to negotiate peace—a strategy, however, that inflames the battle between the sexes. The play is notable for being an early exposé of sexual relations in a male-dominated society. Additionally, its dramatic structure represents a shift from the conventions of Old Comedy, a trend typical of the author's career.[2] It was produced in the same year as the Thesmophoriazusae, another play with a focus on gender-based issues, just two years after Athens' catastrophic defeat in the Sicilian Expedition. At this time, Greek theatre was a profound form of entertainment, which was extremely popular for all audiences as it addressed political issues relevant to that time.

worcester,

As Wikipedia pointed out Lysistrata is a comedy.  Denying men sex tends to make them more hostile and angry, or at the very least more sullen and resentful, not less.  Furthermore, it presumes that women don't like and want sex as much as men and that there aren't more, shall we say 'practical' women who would provide men with what they want in exchange for something the women want...?

Women weaken legs. Sometimes that's a very good thing, but other times not so much. :-)








bob


.

Shamrock1000 wrote:

fierce wrote:Every time Celtic fans talk about trading Bradley, he bounces back.
Just like in the Bulls series.

Was thinking the same thing...Truth is, the guy should be all defensive first team, is a border-line allstar, and, by all accounts is a good teachable dude who provides locker room stability. AND, he makes "only" 8.2 Million next year. Next to IT's contract, this might be the biggest bargain in the nba.

Shamrock,

Jae Crowder's has a very team-friendly contract too.


bob


.

Women weaken legs. LOL. Obviously had an impact on Shawn Kemp but not Wilt!

bobheckler wrote:

Shamrock1000 wrote:

fierce wrote:Every time Celtic fans talk about trading Bradley, he bounces back.
Just like in the Bulls series.

Was thinking the same thing...Truth is, the guy should be all defensive first team, is a border-line allstar, and, by all accounts is a good teachable dude who provides locker room stability. AND, he makes "only" 8.2 Million next year. Next to IT's contract, this might be the biggest bargain in the nba.

Shamrock,

Jae Crowder's has a very team-friendly contract too.


bob


.

No doubt. I love Jae - he is a rock. But I don't think he has the same value as IT and AB - though some might fairly argue he is close to Bradley. Also, I don't hear board members suggesting its time to move on from Jae as often.

I guess in general I'm a glass-half-full guy when it comes to this team. I see one emerging superstar and a really solid young-veteran core signed at bargain prices. I see some seriously talented young players here and/or on their way. I see a team with cap space to sign a difference maker. I see a team that is one win shy of the ECF. Thus, sometimes I find calls to tear it all down, or trade this guy or that guy after a loss or two to be a little premature.

.



.



bob


.

Question.

Both IT and AB cab be offered extensions during the summer. Once the new season starts will it be too late to extend them?

dboss

Shamrock1000 wrote:

fierce wrote:Every time Celtic fans talk about trading Bradley, he bounces back.
Just like in the Bulls series.

Was thinking the same thing...Truth is, the guy should be all defensive first team, is a border-line allstar, and, by all accounts is a good teachable dude who provides locker room stability. AND, he makes "only" 8.2 Million next year. Next to IT's contract, this might be the biggest bargain in the nba.

Absolutely!

The problem now is IT will be getting the max and Bradley will be asking for a near max contract in 2018.

dboss wrote:Question.

Both IT and AB cab be offered extensions during the summer.  Once the new season starts will it be too late to extend them?

dboss

Extensions for IT and AB this summer does not make sense for both players.

Both players can get more money if they just wait until they become unrestricted FAs.

If they go for an extension this year, Celts can only offer both players the available money under the cap.

the reason I feel Bradley might be the best tradable option ( to upgrade an area of more need) is his injury history along with his probable cost to resign after next year.

he has played the following games after his rookie year, sititng on the bench.
64
50
60
77
76 - mixed playoffs with injury here, last year.
55

hard to play a guy who is going to miss about 20 games each year $20M to me.

tough choices for sure, but with the way this years draft is playing out (guards and wings at the top) and Roziers play , along with Smart being able to match Bradley's defensive play, it makes sense to try to work a trade using Bradley as the key piece to me.