The Boston Celtics remained unbeaten at home so far these playoffs with a 92-87 win over the Milwaukee Bucks to take a 3-2 lead in their best of seven first-round series.
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Al Horford led the way with a double-double of 22 points, 14 rebounds. Terry Rozier proved the spark finishing with 16 points and a team-high five assists.
Here are three takeaways from Game 5:
Slow start
The Bucks fed off their home crowd energy in Games 3 and 4 jumping out to big leads in the first quarter in both games. On Wednesday, they struggled to get going only scoring 15 points in the first quarter.
The Bucks were never really able to get back in the game after ending the first period in a hole with the Celtics' lead getting as big as 16 points.
Expect the Bucks to start much better in Game 6 when their backs are against the wall.
Rebounding
Boston crushed Milwaukee on the boards in Game 5 winning the rebound count 50-37. The Bucks shot a poor 37% from the field, and the Celtics didn't give them any chances at second shot opportunities.
Even in the Bucks two victories, Boston has controlled the glass. Milwaukee had one of the worst rebounding rates (48.3) in the league - if they want to keep their season alive they'll have to do a better job of competing on rebounds.
Defensive consistency
Milwaukee got back in the series by defending at a high level. They've been able to show throughout this series that they have the ability to lock Boston down on the defensive end - the only problem is they haven't done it consistently on the road.
It goes without saying that the defensive effort will be there at home for the Bucks, and they've been more explosive offensive as a rest at the Bradley Centre.
But if they plan on winning this series, they must win one in Beantown - which means their effort on the defensive end must travel with them if they force a Game 7.
