3 Celtics takeaways from series-clinching Game 5 win over Cavs

In Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Horford was as ice-cold as it gets. He went a combined 0-for-10 from deep in those outings and shot 25% from the field overall.

The 37-year-old never lost his confidence though, and that paid off in a big way during Game 5. The Cavs were content with letting him take open looks, so he proceeded to hit six 3-pointers, which tied a career-high. Horford finished with 22 points and his best scoring output since March 23rd.

“I thought he was tremendous,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said of Horford’s performance. “I thought that he started it for us, and all the guys responded well. So grateful for Al. And really just a credit, you know, they left him open all series, and he had a tough shooting a couple of games. And for a guy like him, he just needs to keep shooting. And just the way he affected the game in different ways was awesome.”

The five-time All-Star connected on plenty of timely shots, but he also brought the energy on the defensive end. He had a game-high three blocks while the Cavs only had two blocks in total. Horford’s intensity was contagious as well, as he injected life into his team and TD Garden throughout the game with his high-effort plays:

“Tonight was a special night for our group because we had this chance to close it out here at home, and for me, the biggest thing was just bringing energy; bringing energy to our group,” Horford stated.

Perhaps Horford’s largest impact on the series was his rebounding. In Game 5, he had a whopping 15 rebounds, with seven of those boards coming on offense—the Cavs had six offensive rebounds altogether. He kept countless plays alive and because of that, the C’s were able to outscore Cleveland 12-5 on second-chance points.

“Al leads instrumentally. Not much of a talker. Tonight you saw his gift,” Mazzulla said. “His gift is just passion, inspiration, toughness, competitive nature. And obviously, those games are tough, right? Where the other team is fighting for their lives, and you’re trying to play as hard as you can. You don’t want to make mistakes, whatever the case may be. But just that’s who Al is as a person. You saw his personality.”

For any further proof of Horford’s positive influence, examine how Boston performed when he was on the court versus when he was on the bench, via Celtics play-by-play radio announcer Sean Grande:

Jayson Tatum was the leader the Celtics needed in the second round

As great as Horford was on Wednesday, it shouldn’t overshadow what Celtics star Jayson Tatum was able to do against the Cavs.

After a slow start to the series, Tatum finished strong, posting back-to-back 33-point performances in Games 3 and 4. In the series-clincher, he had 25 points (9-for-16 shooting) to go along with 10 rebounds and nine assists for a near-triple-double.

Deserved or not, the five-time All-Star received plenty of criticism this postseason. Despite all the noise, Tatum ended up leading the Celtics in points, rebounds, assists, and steals in the second round.

“How can I dominate the game?” Tatum asked during his postgame presser. “Me and Joe talk about endurance, spurts of the game, do I want to screen? Do I want to handle the ball? It’s just simple—making the right reads. I don’t come down the court telling myself I’m about to shoot or I’m about to pass. It’s just about making the right read based on the reaction.”

Tatum is considered a scorer first, yet his play-making has been a massive boom for the C’s in the playoffs. When the Cavs inevitably tried to collapse on him with multiple guys, he found the open shooter frequently. Reads like this one late in Game 4 were pivotal to the Celtics’ success:

Payton Pritchard played his role perfectly

With Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis sidelined for the entire second round, the Celtics needed some extra offensive support. Tatum and Jaylen Brown were obviously the go-to guys, however, don’t overlook point guard Payton Pritchard.

Fresh off one of the best regular seasons of his career, the Oregon native has been just what the C’s have needed off the bench. Against the Cavs, he scored in double figures in four out of the five contests even though he never played more than 26 minutes in a game.

He was the Celtics’ fifth-leading scorer this round, averaging 11.2 points on 52.6% shooting. Pritchard was lethal from 3-point range too, draining 12 of his 24 attempts for an awesome conversion rate of 50%.

The 26-year-old’s main jobs are to make open looks, provide an offensive boost off the bench, and not be a liability on defense. Pritchard checked all three of those boxes against Cleveland and played like a reliable sixth man.

Boston will need similar games from him in the Eastern Conference Finals, as it awaits either the New York Knicks or the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks can make their first ECF appearance in over two decades with a win at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, as they currently lead the scrappy series 3-2.