Cavs vs. Celtics: Score, highlights from Boston's decisive Game 5 win in East finals

Jordan Greer

•
Cavs vs. Celtics: Score, highlights from Boston's decisive Game 5 win in East finals image

The Celtics have a "Jekyll and Hyde" situation going on during this year's NBA playoff run: monsters at home, meek on the road, Fortunately for the C's, they were back in the friendly confines of TD Garden for Game 5 against the Cavs on Wednesday night.

Brad Stevens' squad got back on track in a big way after dropping both games in Cleveland, routing the Cavs 96-83. The C's will take a 3-2 lead back to Quicken Loans Arena knowing that a potential Game 7 will be in Beantown. Jayson Tatum (24 points) and Jaylen Brown (17) led a balanced Boston offense; five different Celtics scored in double figures.

NBA PLAYOFFS: Wednesday wrap | Scores, schedule, live updates 

All eyes once again turned to LeBron James in Game 5. The Cavs superstar approached his series averages with 26 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, but his supporting cast outside of Kevin Love (14 points) was invisible. The rest of the Cleveland roster barely outscored James and Love (43-40) against a tough Celtics defense. 

SAY WHAT? Lue has bizarre explanation for Korver not playing in first quarter

Sporting News provided live updates from Game 5 of Cavs vs. Celtics.

Cavs vs. Celtics: Score, highlights, updates

Game 5 box score

Final score: Celtics 96, Cavaliers 83

11:09 p.m. ET — Al Horford called game:

10:58 p.m. ET — Getting a head start on Game 6 prep? LeBron is on the bench with less than three minutes remaining and the Cavs down 18.

10:52 p.m. ET — The Cavs are hanging around, but it doesn't feel as though LeBron can drag this team to a comeback win. The C's are ready to put this one away.

End of third quarter: Celtics 76, Cavaliers 60

10:30 p.m. ET —  The Celts are 12 minutes away from taking a 3-2 series lead to Cleveland. Jayson Tatum leads Boston scorers with 21 points; he's one of five Boston players in double figures. James (24) and Love (14) have combined for 38, but the rest of the roster has 22.

10:25 p.m. ET — Twitter has opinions about LeBron as the Celtics pull away from the Cavs:

10:09 p.m. ET — The Celts are in command despite this shooting performance by Terry Rozier:

Halftime: Celtics 53, Cavaliers 42

9:46 p.m. ET — Boston is in control at the break. It held Cleveland to 41 percent shooting from the field overall. James and Kevin Love were 11 for 19 combined, but everyone else was 4 for 17.

9:40 p.m. ET — The Celtics have hit their last three shots, including two by Marcus Smart, and have pushed their lead to 14.

9:24 p.m. ET — Video of Nance vs. Morris and Rozier:

9:17 p.m. ET (UPDATED at 9:21 p.m.) — This game just got heated. Larry Nance Jr. took exception to some Marcus Morris trash talk and shoved Morris in the back. Terry Rozier came running in and shoved Nance, and everyone gathered in a corner. The officials are going to the video to sort it all out. . . . and Nance, Morris and Rozier are all assessed technical fouls.

Marcus-Morris-052318-Getty-FTR.jpg

Marcus Morris vs. Larry Nance Jr., with Terry Rozier joining the fray. (Getty Images)

End of first quarter: Celtics 32, Cavaliers 19

9:08 p.m. ET — Boston grabs a big early advantage fueled by six 3-pointers. Jaylen Brown had a wide-open look on this trey:

8:55 p.m. ET — Aron Baynes plays rim protector, then hustles down the other end for a putback bucket:

8:40 p.m. ET — Game 5 is underway at last. Cleveland is going with this starting five:

8:30 p.m. ET — LeBron throwns down a dunk in warmups:

8 p.m. ET — The stars have made their way to Boston:

Jordan Greer

Jordan Greer Photo

Jordan Greer has been with The Sporting News since 2015. He previously worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He is a graduate of Westminster College and Syracuse University.