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BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics, holding home-court serve, used an early 16-0 run and never looked back, cruising to a 123-101 blowout of the Washington Wizards in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Wednesday night. Up 3-2 in the series, top-seeded Boston can advance to meet the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern finals with a win Friday night in Washington or Monday at home.
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If the Celtics win Friday, they would open against Cleveland on Monday night. If the Boston-Washington series goes seven, the winner meets the Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
The Celtics and Wizards have played nine times this year, and the home team has won all nine games -- with Boston 5-0 at home, where it has won eight straight over Washington.
Boston's early run came after the Wizards scored the game's first four points.
Avery Bradley, who has been battling hip pointers, scored 25 of his playoff-career-high 29 points in the first half as the Celtics built a 22-point halftime lead that grew to 26 in the fourth quarter. Bradley hit his last basket with 5:55 left in the third quarter and rested in the fourth.
Al Horford scored 19 points and added seven assists and six rebounds for Boston. Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder both scored 18, Thomas with nine assists and Crowder with eight rebounds. Thomas scored eight straight in the fourth.
The Celtics went 16-for-33 from 3-pointers and became the sixth team in NBA history with at least 10 treys in six straight playoff games.
John Wall led the Wizards, who were coming off two straight blowout wins at home, with 21 points, and Bradley Beal had 16. However, the Washington guards combined to go just 14 of 36 from the floor, 2 of 7 from 3-point range. Otto Porter added 13 points and Marcin Gortat grabbed 11 rebounds.
Washington's Kelly Oubre, who sat out Game 4 via NBA suspension after running into Celtics forward Kelly Olynyk, heard chants for him long before he entered the game in the second quarter. He was booed every time he touched the ball or committed a foul. He had 13 points.
NOTES: Celtics G Isaiah Thomas was fined $25,000 by the NBA for "directing inappropriate language toward a fan" in Washington during Game 4. "If he could take it back, he would," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said before Wednesday night's game. ... The Wizards came in having won back-to-back playoff games by at least 15 points for the first time since 1978 and also having scored at least 110 points in five straight playoff games for the first time since 1971. Their 2017 playoff low was 103 -- in their Game 5 win over the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. ... Washington coach Scott Brooks on playing on the road: "You have to enjoy the road. The road is fun."
