Bradley Leads Celtics Past Bulls, NBA Playoffs

By ESPN

The Celtics and Bulls found another thing to argue about after Game 5 of their spirited first-round playoff series:

Was Avery Bradley more impressive on offense, or on defense?

"Everyone knows he's a good defender. Tonight, he got his offensive game going," Chicago's Dwyane Wade said after Bradley scored 24 points to lead Boston to a 108-97 victory and a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

"You expect him to do what he does defensively, but we gave up 24 points to him tonight. He hurt us offensively tonight more than anything."

Isaiah Thomas also scored 24 for the Celtics, the top seed in the East. After the road team won each of the first four games, the Celtics won at home in Game 5 to earn a chance to eliminate the Bulls on Friday night in Chicago. A Bulls victory would force the series back to Boston for a decisive Game 7 on Sunday.

Al Horford had 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Celtics. Bradley's 24 points were a career playoff high, but after watching him hold Bulls star Jimmy Butler to 14 points -- and just one foul shot -- Celtics coach Brad Stevens praised Bradley's defense.

"Jimmy Butler's a hard guy to guard. Dwyane Wade's a hard guy to guard. You're not going to stop those guys, but you just try to make it as hard as possible," Stevens said. "Avery ... has done a really good job."

Butler, who shot 23 free throws in Game 4 and made 19, was 0 for 1 on Wednesday.

"I was trying to eliminate letting Jimmy Butler get to the free throw line. That was my goal this game, and I feel like I did it," Bradley said.

Wade had 26 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. But Wade and Robin Lopez were called for technical fouls 32 seconds apart with just under five minutes left, helping the Celtics to a 20-5 run that turned an 84-84 game into a 15-point Boston lead.

The Bulls cut it to nine before Horford got loose for a dunk, Wade missed a 3-pointer and then Horford fed Jae Crowder for a layup that made it 108-95 with 99 seconds to play.

Despite the technical fouls, there was little of the tension that characterized Game 4, when Butler and Marcus Smart got in each other's face on the court and continued the criticism in their postgame comments.

The Celtics started slowly on their home court, making just one of their first nine shots to fall behind 12-4. Boston missed its first eight 3-point attempts before making three in a row at the end of the first quarter.

Wizards 103, Hawks 99

John Wall figured the credit went to the down-the-stretch defense displayed by his Washington Wizards.

Neither Dennis Schroder nor coach Mike Budenholzer found any flaws with the way their Atlanta Hawks handled things late.

Either way, the odd manner in which Atlanta seemed to allow the final half-minute or so to slip away while trailing -- not fouling Washington to try to extend things; passing around the ball, instead of shooting it, as the clock headed toward zero -- left the Wizards on the verge of closing out the teams' Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

Back at home, and back in charge, Bradley Beal scored 27 points, and Wall added 20 points and 14 assists, leading Washington to a 103-99 victory in Game 5 on Wednesday night for a 3-2 series lead.

"I thought they were going to play the foul game -- or at least try to trap. But they let us run the clock down," Wall said, noting that he felt as if he and his teammates finished "with the best scrambling defense we had."

Schroder led the Hawks with 29 points, making a career high-tying five 3s, and 11 assists. But after his basket from beyond the arc pulled Atlanta within 101-99 with 70 seconds left, Wall responded with a 21-foot pull-up jumper. Neither team would score the rest of the way.

"It was right there," Schroder said. "We've just got to be better in crunch time."

A miss followed from Paul Millsap, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds, but after Wall's jumper was off the mark, the Hawks never managed to put the ball in the basket -- including sort of fiddling around as if they didn't realize they were trailing by four.

"We tried to get a clean look," Tim Hardaway Jr. said, "but they just did a good job of ... making it tough on us."

Budenholzer's take?

"I'm not, off the top of my head, frustrated with what we got offensively," he said.

The host has won every game in this series so far.

Washington can reach the conference semifinals by winning Game 6 at Atlanta on Friday night.

"It's got to be us," Budenholzer said, "that's the aggressor."

As it is, the series has been filled with physical play, referee whistles and smack talk, including a "Crybaby" accusation and a comparison to MMA fighting.

Dwight Howard -- who finally came to the fore in Game 4 with 16 points and 15 rebounds -- didn't play much in the second half, picking up his fourth foul with 2 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter and his fifth off the ball with 8 1/2 minutes to go.

Washington's Markieff Morris picked up No. 4 after 2 1/2 minutes of the third quarter and didn't return until there were less than 6 minutes remaining in the fourth. About 2 1/2 minutes after going back in, Morris drew his fifth foul -- plus a technical for arguing, eliciting derisive chants about the officiating from spectators.

"It's been the hardest it's ever been," Morris said, "for me to stay out of foul trouble."

Wednesday, April 26 Scoreboard

Wizards 103, Hawks 99

Celtics 108, Bulls 97

Thursday, April 27 Schedule (All Times Central)

Toronto at Milwaukee, 6 p.m.

Eastern Conference 1st Round -- Game 6

San Antonio at Memphis, 8:30 p.m.

Western Conference 1st Round -- Game 6

Friday, April 28 Schedule (All Times Central)

Washington at  Atlanta, 6:30 p.m.

Eastern Conference 1st Round -- Game 6

Boston at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Eastern  Conference 1st  Round -- Game 6

Los Angeles Clippers at Utah, 9:30 p.m.

Western Conference 1st  Round -- Game 6

Saturday, April 29 Schedule (All Times Central)

Memphis at San Antonio, TBD

Western Conference 1st Round -- Game 7 if necessary

Milwaukee at Toronto, TBD

Eastern Conference 1st Round -- Game 7 if necessary

Sunday, April 30 Schedule (All Times Central)

Chicago at Boston, TBD

Eastern Conference 1st Round -- Game 7 if necessary

Utah at Los Angeles Clippers, TBD

Western Conference 1st Round -- Game 7 if necessary

Atlanta at Washington, TBD

Eastern Conference 1st Round -- Game 7 if necessary