The Celtics defeated Heat 118-84 in Game 5.

The Celtics defeated the undermanned Heat 118-84 in Game 5 on Wednesday night, with Jaylen Brown and Derrick White each scoring 25 points to lead the team to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Cleveland-Orlando series winner will play Boston. With Game 6 in Orlando on Friday night, the Cavaliers lead 3-2.

Brown claimed that they approached the game like professionals. White drained five 3-pointers, while Brown also had six assists. The top-seeded Celtics never trailed and led by 37 points with Sam Hauser contributing 17 points and Tatum recording 16 points and 12 rebounds.

For Miami, which earned its first departure from the playoffs before the conference finals since 2021, Bam Adebayo scored 23 points and Tyler Herro had 15. Throughout, the Heat had difficulty shooting 3-pointers, going 3 of 29.

The Celtics were playing with more vigour from the first tip, according to Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. Centre Kristaps Porzingis hurt his right calf during the Celtics’ Game 4 victory, forcing Boston to play without him for the first time this series. up the first half, the Celtics’ lead increased to thirty points as his teammates filled up the voids.

Boston took advantage of a Heat club that was suffering from its worst injuries of the series. Following a hip injury sustained during Game 4, Jaime Jaquez Jr. did not play. Delon Wright took his place in the starting lineup, making it the 37th starting five the Heat have used this year. Jimmy Butler (knee) and Terry Rozier (neck), who had both been out since the beginning of the series, were joined by Jaquez.

Miami was forced to use unusual lineups, with seasoned player Patty Mills playing for just the third time during the series.

In the first quarter, Boston took advantage of the weaknesses in the Heat’s defence, spreading them out and making eight 3-pointers. It enabled the Celtics to lead by eighteen points going into the second half.

White’s eight 3-pointers in Game 4 smashed Miami from long range, making it the highlight of the first twelve minutes. Early on on Wednesday, he continued to attack, driving in for an uncontested one-handed dunk after faked a 3-point try.

Afterward, White performed for the home audience while backing up the court with his hand in front of his face. A courtside supporter next to the Celtics bench was seen pantomiming to fan White on the sideline after the Heat called a timeout.