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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida – Boston coach Brad Stevens’ game plan was simple: start with more effort on defense to set an immediate tone.
The Celtics did exactly what he asked of them, and they put the reigning NBA champions on the ropes.
Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and the Celtics never lost, beating the Toronto Raptors, 111-89, in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Monday night (Tuesday Manila time).
Boston now leads the series 3-2 and may earn a trip to the Eastern finals on Wednesday.
Kemba Walker scored 21 for the Celtics, whose starters outscored Toronto’s starters by a whopping 93-45. Jayson Tatum scored 18, Daniel Theis and Brad Wanamaker each had 15 and Marcus Smart added 12 for Boston.
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Fred VanVleet scored 18 for Toronto, which fell behind by as many as 30. Norman Powell scored 16 for the Raptors, while Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry each had 10 points. Matt Thomas also had 10 for Toronto.
Here’s what Toronto got from its first 18 possessions: five points on 2-of-15 shots, a stretch that included everything from missed open layups to contested airball jump shots, along with five turnovers in the first 8:53. of the game.
They were down 18-5 after all that, and it quickly got worse.
Another great scoring streak, this time 23-7, in the second quarter pushed Boston’s lead from 37-25 to 60-32 late in the half. The Raptors were 5-of-6 from the field just before the streak began and appeared to be picking up pace; they missed 11 of their next 13 shots and things got out of hand.
Toronto edged Boston 28-25 in the third and it didn’t matter anymore; the Celtics’ lead was 87-63 entering the fourth.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Closeout games are never easy, and Boston is just 17-21 since 2008 when it has a chance to win a series. … Boston now has four wins over the Raptors by 15 or more points this season. The rest of the NBA, combined, has one. … The Celtics scored more points in the second quarter (37) than they allowed in the first half (35).
Raptors: Marc Gasol did not score and did not play in the final 20 minutes. VanVleet was the only Toronto starter to appear in the fourth. … Toronto is 9-10 all-time when it faces elimination, as will be the case on Wednesday. The Raptors went 1-0 last season in games of win or not, that being the Game 7 win over Philadelphia in the Eastern semifinals.
I ELEVEN
Boston led 25-11 after the first quarter. It was the 662nd playoff game in Celtics history and only the fourth time they had not allowed more than 11 points in a first quarter; they gave up nine once, ten twice. Toronto’s 11 points were tied for the second-lowest-scoring quarter, any quarter, in its team playoff history. The Raptors had nine in the first in Detroit on April 21, 2002.
REMEMBERING BROCK
Tatum, a St. Louis native, scrawled “RIP Lou Brock” on the bottom of his shoes for Monday’s game. Brock, the Baseball Hall of Famer who helped St. Louis win the World Series twice, died Sunday at the age of 81. Tatum never misses an opportunity to represent his hometown; He often wears Cardinals caps, and even donned a pair of sneakers this season inspired by the 2019 Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues, who just beat the Boston Bruins for that title.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
Game 6 is on Wednesday.
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