Celtics grab the brooms as they sweep the Nets, Raptors force Game 6

DPA New York The Boston Celtics have emerged as the favourites to make it through the Eastern Conference after a 116-112 win against the Brooklyn Nets conf...

DPANew YorkThe Boston Celtics have emerged as the favourites to make it through the Eastern Conference after a 116-112 win against the Brooklyn Nets confirmed a 4-0 series sweep.In what was billed as arguably the most competitive first round series in recent memory, the Celtics were simply too good on the defensive end to let the frightening Nets offense find any rhythm or flow.Boston’s Jayson Tatum scored a team-high 29 points on nine-of-16 shooting (four-of-six from distance) before getting fouled out late in the fourth quarter, while Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart showed his offensive skills with 20 points and 11 assists.Grant Williams did a superb job for the Celtics, coming off the bench to hit four of his six three point attempts, while also playing smothering defense on Kevin Durant and swatting away three shots.Despite Williams’ best efforts, Durant was still a force offensively, scoring a game-high 39 points on 13-of-31 shooting while adding nine assists and seven rebounds in 47 minutes.Kyrie Irving played 45 minutes, and finished with a respectable line of 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, but he went missing for long stretches of the must-win game. Irving attempted just 13 shots, which was the same number as Seth Curry, who outscored him with 23 points.An early storyline in the game, and ultimately one of the deciding factors, was Brooklyn’s reserve center Nic Claxton missing the first 10 free throws he attempted, finishing the game one-for-11.The Toronto Raptors refused to lay down against the Philadelphia 76ers, winning Game 5 103-88 on the road to pull the series back to 3-2, with Game 6 heading back to Canada.Toronto trailed 3-0 after three games, but have won back-to-back fixtures with their season on the line to put the pressure back on Philadelphia.Game 5 was won on the defensive end, as the Raptors took control of the contest with a 25-14 second quarter.Toronto forced 16 Philadelphia turnovers while only committing nine themselves, and they held the home side to 38 per cent shooting (31-of-81), with the visitors shooting 51 per cent (42-of-82).With Fred VanVleet out of action, Pascal Siakam assumed point guard duties for Toronto, finishing with 23 points (10-of-17 shooting) with 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Precious Achiuwa added 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 27 minutes off the bench.Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes showed his talent in his return to the starting line up, scoring 12 points, grabbing eight rebounds, dishing four assists and snatching a game-high three steals.For the 76ers, Joel Embiid was kept quiet by his standards with 20 points and 11 rebounds from just 15 field goal attempts as the Raptors consistently double-teamed him and forced Philadelphia’s role players to hit shots.James Harden was disappointing, with just 15 points and seven assists to go with five turnovers.No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit.The last game of the night was also the least competitive, as the Dallas Mavericks flashed some unbelievable defensive upside in a 102-77 win against the Utah Jazz.Prior to the game, Utah’s lowest score of the season was a 124-90 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans in March, with the 77-point figure being their lowest score since November 2018 - in a 118-68 loss to the Mavericks.Dallas now leads the series 3-2, with Game 6 to be played in Utah, and while the Mavs’ defense stole the show, Luka Doncic was the best player on the floor.Doncic had 33 points (11-of-22 shooting) in 33 minutes, with 13 rebounds and five assists, while partner-in-crime Jalen Brunson chipped in with 24 points on nine-of-20 shooting with four assists and just one turnover.Utah only scored more than 19 points in one quarter - the last, when the game was sealed - as the Mavericks won the first three frames by margins of 24-18, 28-18 and 29-19.It was the lowest-scoring game of Donovan Mitchell’s playoff career, finishing with just nine points on four-of-15 shooting. Of Mitchell’s four career playoff games with 12 points or fewer, this was the first since April 2019.