NBA: Celtics advance with Game 5 blowout of Heat

Derrick White and Jaylen Brown each tossed in 25 points to help the Boston Celtics wrap up their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against the visiting Miami Heat with a 118-84 victory in Game 5 on Wednesday.

Jayson Tatum added 16 points and 12 rebounds for the top-seeded Celtics, who won the final three games in the best-of-seven series.

Boston will play either fourth-seeded Cleveland or fifth-seeded Orlando in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Cavaliers have a 3-2 lead over the Magic in that series, which resumes Friday.

White and Sam Hauser each made five 3-pointers in the Celtics’ win. Hauser finished with 17 points off the bench.

Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 23 points and six assists, and Tyler Herro added 15 points. Caleb Martin and Thomas Bryant each finished with 10 points, the only other Miami players who scored in double figures.

Eighth-seeded Miami shot 3 of 29 (10.3 percent) from 3-point range and was outrebounded 56-29.

The Heat, who didn’t have Jimmy Butler (knee) or Terry Rozier (neck) for the series, was also without rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. on Wednesday. Jaquez was diagnosed with a right hip flexor strain that also caused him to miss the fourth quarter of Game 4.

Boston played Wednesday without Kristaps Porzingis, who will be sidelined for an unspecified amount of time with a soleus (calf) strain. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Porzingis would be re-evaluated next week.

The game was tied 11-11 early, but Boston took control by scoring 21 of the next 26 points, capped by a Hauser 3-pointer. The Celtics made eight 3-pointers in the opening quarter and had a 41-23 lead after 12 minutes.

The Celtics extended the edge to 30 points in the second quarter and had a 68-46 advantage at halftime. Boston led 98-66 after three quarters and rested its starters for much of the fourth. The Celtics were up by 37 at one point in the final quarter. — Field Level Media/Reuters