Boston
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.
Dwyane Wade had 26 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for Chicago.
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 Al 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 Jimmy Butler and Marcus Smart got in each other’s face on the court and continued the criticism in their postgame comments.
Horford had 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for Boston, which entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the East. The Celtics lost the first two games at home — with Game 1 just a day after Thomas’ sister died in a car crash.
After Bulls point guard Rajon Rondo broke his thumb, though, the Celtics took Games 3 and 4 in Chicago to tie the series.
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.
Notes: There were at least nine members of the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in the crowd, and a handful of players from the Boston Bruins as well. … Thomas missed his first four shots and didn’t make a basket until a second-chance 3-pointer with 42 seconds left in the first half. … Gerald Green made his third start, but he played less than 13 minutes and finished with two points after scoring 18 with seven rebounds in Game 4.
Wizards 103, Hawks 99
Washington
Dennis 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.
A miss followed from Paul Millsap, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds, but after Wall’s jumper was off the mark, the Hawks seemed to waste too much time at the other end and the buzzer sounded.
The host has won every game in this series so far.
Washington can close out the best-of-seven series and move into the conference semifinals by winning Game 6 at Atlanta on Friday night.
The Wizards won 30 games at home during the regular season, the second-most in the East, and they have now collected six consecutive first-round home playoff games.
The crowd filed in on the late side, which perhaps wasn’t all that surprising given that this was an earlier-than-usual 6 p.m. tipoff time on a weekday. But they were sent away happy.
In a series that has been filled with plenty of physical play, referee whistles and smack talk, including a “Crybaby” accusation and a comparison to MMA fighting, there were fouls galore in stretches once again.
Dwight Howard and Millsap both had three fouls at the half. Then Howard — who finally came to the fore in Game 4 with 16 points and 15 rebounds after a quiet start to the series — exited after picking up his fourth foul with 2½ minutes left in the third quarter. His fifth arrived on an offensive foul off the ball with 8½ minutes to go.
Washington’s Markieff Morris picked up No. 4 after 2½ minutes of the third quarter and didn’t return until there were less than 6 minutes remaining in the fourth.
Still, Washington stretched out a one-point halftime edge to 69-58 on Wall’s 3-pointer, before the Hawks responded.
Tim Hardaway Jr. delivered eight of his 15 points in an 11-0 run that tied things at 69.
The Wizards were ahead 83-79 entering the final quarter.
About 2½ minutes after going back in, Morris drew his fifth foul — plus a technical for arguing, eliciting derisive chants about the officiating from spectators.