JAYSON Tatum scored a game-high 35 points to help the Boston Celtics clinch their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with a 120-89 Game 5 victory on Tuesday night over the visiting Orlando Magic.
Tatum was 10 of 16 from the field and made all 11 of his free throw attempts while adding eight rebounds and 10 assists as the Celtics wrapped up their first-round series in five games for the second year in a row. Jaylen Brown added 23 points for the Celtics, who outscored the Magic 73-40 in the second half.
“There’s a lot we can learn from this series and now we have to get ready for whoever we play against,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. “Take the days that we need and even without knowing the opponent, there’s stuff that we have to get better at.”
Tyrese Haliburton scored 26 points, including the go-ahead layup with 1.4 seconds remaining in overtime, and the Indiana Pacers rallied for a 119-118 win over the Milwaukee Bucks to clinch their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series on Tuesday in Indianapolis.
Haliburton jumped onto the scorers’ table and raised his arms toward the crowd to celebrate the wild comeback, which gave Indiana a 4-1 win in the best-of-seven series. The fourth-seeded Pacers advanced to the East’s semifinals, where they will face the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Magic lost their sixth consecutive first-round series — dating back to 2010-11 — despite 25 points from Franz Wagner. Paolo Banchero collected 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Wendell Carter Jr. added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“I’m not taking any moral victories from this series,” Banchero. “The goal was to win.”
Second-seeded Boston took control after Banchero went to the bench after being called for his fifth foul with 9:46 remaining in the third quarter. It was 53-53 at the time, but the Celtics outscored the seventh-seeded Magic 36-13 in the third and owned an 83-62 advantage entering the fourth. Boston had a 24-4 run in the third quarter.
Orlando had a 15-3 edge in offensive rebounds, but shot 8-of-38 from 3-point territory. The Magic shot 37.5 percent from the field in the game (33-of-88).
“We struggled to score when Paolo went out and they made a lot of 3s in the third and fourth quarter,” Wagner said. “We had a couple good looks that didn’t go. A couple bad possessions as well, and they went on a big run (in the third quarter).”
The Celtics didn’t make a 3-pointer until Tatum connected with 10:22 left in the third quarter, but they made 13-of-24 3-point attempts overall. Boston was 43-of-76 from the field (56.6 percent) in the game.
