Ignacius Carell Cruz

No Cinderella story this year for Miami.

The Boston Celtics successfully avenge last year’s heartbreaking Game 7 loss in the Eastern Conference Finals after dominating their tormentors, the Miami Heat in Game 5, 118-84, inside the TD Garden, Monday.

Photos Courtesy of AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Derrick White dropped 25 points on 5/10 shooting from beyond the arc after his jaw-dropping Game 4 performance while Jaylen Brown added 25 markers to complete the gentleman sweep against the injury-riddled Miami.

Right off the bat, Joe Mazzulla’s team were determined not to go back to South Beach as the Celtics drained 8 three-pointers in the first period alone to establish an early 18-point lead.

The Heat tried to battle back in the second frame courtesy of Bam Adebayo who put up a team-high 25 points but Boston kept doing nothing wrong to keep Miami at bay.

After the break, Erik Spoelstra’s team already looked defeated, both on offense and defense as they struggled to get defensive rebounds and gave away 50-50 possessions to the streaking Celtics.

The game ended with Boston not trailing for a second and at point even establishing a 37-point cushion against Miami who shot an abysmal 3/29 from three.

The best team in the NBA during the regular season proved that they were deserving of all the praise after a convincing 114-94 win in Game 1 which saw them bury 22 three-pointers led by Jayson Tatum’s first career triple-double.

Miami then retaliated with a franchise record 23 makes from beyond the white line to steal home-court advantage and go back to South Florida with a chance to make another miraculous series win.

However, the Celtics responded in Game 3 with a well-rounded offense and stifling defense led by Kristaps Porzingis who had a bounce back game after pouring in 18 points to support Tatum and Brown’s 22 markers each.

White then had the playoff game of his life after dropping 38 points on 8/15 shooting from three to put Boston up 3-1 despite woeful shooting from Tatum and Brown and Porzingis going out early in the game with an injury.

The outcome of the series was expected as Miami was missing multiple players including the team’s heart and soul, Jimmy Butler after sustaining a knee injury during the play-in tournament.

On the other hand, Terry Rozier who was acquired during the season with the hopes of adding his scoring ability to the arsenal of Miami was also unable to suit up in the entire series against his former team due to neck spasms.

The Celtics will now enjoy their well-deserved break as they await the winner of the other series between the Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers who is in favor of Cleveland at 3-2.

Meanwhile, Spoelstra and Adebayo will shift their focus on the upcoming 2024 Olympics in France where they are a part of the lineup and coaching staff respectively.