Celtics demolish Raptors for 3-2 series edge

[September 08, 2020]  Six Celtics scored in double figures, led by Jaylen Brown with 27 points, as Boston dominated the Toronto Raptors 111-89 Monday night to take a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series near Orlando.

Kemba Walker added 21 points, Jayson Tatum had 18 with 10 rebounds, Brad Wanamaker and Daniel Theis scored 15 apiece and Marcus Smart 12 for the Celtics, who rebounded from two consecutive losses after they had blown a 2-0 lead in the series.

Boston will get the chance to clinch a conference-finals berth with a Game 6 victory Wednesday.

Fred VanVleet had 18 points to top the Raptors, who never led in the contest and trailed by as many as 30 points.

The Celtics ran away early as the Raptors endured one of their worst scoring playoff quarters in franchise history. Boston was up 18-5 after 8 1/2 minutes as Toronto began 2-of-14 from the field.

The Raptors ended the quarter shooting 4-for-20, and they trailed 25-11. They hit one of nine shots from 3-point range.

Boston's advantage hit 46-25 on a Tatum 3-pointer with 4:55 to go in the second. The lead reached as high as 28 before halftime, and the Celtics entered the break up 62-35 after Walker beat the buzzer with a floater.

Brown led Boston with 16 first-half points, Tatum added 12 and Smart and Wanamaker each had 10. Meanwhile, no Raptors players were in double figures. Toronto shot 13 of 43 (30.2 percent) in the half and 4 of 18 from 3-point range (22.2 percent). The 27-point halftime deficit tied the largest ever faced by a defending NBA champion during a playoff game, according to STATS.

Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) steals the ball from Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet (23) during the first half of game five of the second round in the 2020 NBA Playoffs at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Raptors began the third with a 6-0 run, Pascal Siakam making a trio of short-range buckets, but the Celtics' lead never dropped below 20 in the quarter. At 4:23, Boston's advantage reached 79-49 on a Brown step-back jumper.

The Celtics led 87-63 after three, and the Raptors emptied their bench by midway through the fourth.

For the game, the Celtics outshot the Raptors 49.4 percent to 38.8 percent. Boston hit 24 of 27 free throws while Toronto made 11 of 13.

--Field Level Media

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