Wednesday’s action in the NBA Playoffs consisted of a doubleheader on TNT. It started with the Boston Celtics easily eliminating an injury-plagued Miami Heat team in Game 5 of their first-round series. Boston looks like a true juggernaut.
The late game saw the Los Angeles Clippers come up completely empty at home in Game 5 of their series against the Dallas Mavericks. Luka Doncic dominated for Dallas. Paul George, James Harden and Russell Westbrook were absolute disasters for Los Angeles as the team suffered its worst ever loss in the NBA Playoffs and fell down 3-2 in the series.
Here are the 10 biggest winners and losers from the NBA Playoffs on Wednesday.
Winner: Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks
Kyrie Irving’s stats were not great on Wednesday. He missed on 7-of-8 three-point attempts, scoring just 14 points with four rebounds and six assists. In no way does this mean he didn’t make an impact. Dallas finished plus-35 in Irving’s 35 minutes of action. He completely locked up Clippers guards Russell Westbrook and James Harden throughout the night (combined 4-of-23 shooting). This just goes to show us that the tape and actually watching film can tell us more than the box score. The dude was awesome from an all-around perspective.
Loser: Eastern Conference Playoff teams
We hate to use a blanket statement here. But how can we ignore just how dominant the Celtics were in their first-round series? Complete and utter domination in taking care of the Heat in five games. What’s more? Boston will now have an extended rest. The Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Orlando Magic on Thursday. If Orlando comes out on top, Game 7 will be Sunday. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks put off elimination on Tuesday. This means that their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers could also go seven. Yeah, things are looking great for the Celtics to come out of the east — as if that was really any question in the first place.
Related: 3 reasons the Boston Celtics should scare the heck out of remaining NBA Playoff teams
Winner: Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
Doncic headed into Wednesday’s action in the NBA Playoffs feeling under the weather and dealing with a knee sprain. In fact, the MVP candidate indicated that he would not play if this were a regular season game. About that? Doncic was the best player on the court as Dallas took a 3-2 series lead over the Clippers. The dude scored 35 points on 14-of-26 shooting. He added seven rebounds and 10 assists. Doncic’s defense also helped the Mavericks hold Los Angeles to 38% shooting from the field. If he’s not 100%, we hate to tell other teams moving forward in the playoffs what a fully-healthy Doncic will look like.
Loser: James Harden, Los Angeles Clippers
With an injured Kawhi Leonard sidelined, Harden had picked up the scoring thus far in the NBA Playoffs. He entered Wednesday’s big home date averaging 26.0 points on 54% shooting. It’s one of the reasons why this series was even heading back to Los Angeles. About that? It was a disaster class of a performance from Harden. He shot just 2-of-12 from the field, including missing six of his seven three-pointers. Harden also turned the ball over four times in finishing with seven points. That’s obviously not going to cut it. This performance also has Los Angeles on the verge of elimination.
Related: Winners and losers from Tuesday’s action in the NBA Playoffs
Winner: Jrue Holiday, Boston Celtics
As has been the case this season, Holiday’s basic numbers were not great Wednesday evening. He scored 10 points with six rebounds and five assists. That’s not the point. We’re talking about the glue that holds this Celtics defense together. Holiday’s ability on that side of the ball is by now well known (five-time All-NBA Defensive Team performer). But his on-ball defense against Miami was next level. In reality, Holiday is one of the primary reasons why the Heat connected on just 3-of-29 shots from three-point range. If he keeps this up, the Celtics are going to be unbeatable moving forward in the NBA Playoffs.
Loser: Tyronn Lue, Los Angeles Clippers
His Los Angeles Clippers went into Dallas in Game 4 and evened the series up at two. Sure, the Clippers almost blew a 31-point lead. But winning in that atmosphere was pretty darn awesome for Tyronn Lue. Unfortunately, he simply did not have his team ready to play in the all-important Game 5. Whether it was a lack of a scheme or something else, the Clippers came up completely empty in a humiliating home loss to the Mavericks. Regardless of your opinion regarding Lue, this did not paint him in the best of lights.
Related: 10 greatest players in the history of the NBA Playoffs
Winner: Derrick White, Boston Celtics
Derrick White was absolutely brilliant as Boston made quick work of Miami in Game 4, scoring 38 points on 8-of-15 shooting from three-point range. It was the best performance of his career. While White didn’t match those numbers Wednesday as Boston advanced in the NBA Playoffs, he was still stellar. The wing scored 25 points on an effective 8-of-13 shooting. He connected on four more three-pointers. Boston also finished plus-17 in his 29 minutes of action. Depending on how much longer Kristaps Porzingis is out, this scoring uptick from White could prove valuable moving forward.
Loser: Tyler Herro, Miami Heat
Tyler Herro was up-and-down in the NBA Playoffs heading into Wednesday’s do-or-die matchup. The Heat guard was shooting 41% from the field, including 40% from distance. Unfortunately, he was not able to up his scoring with Jimmy Butler sidelined to injury. That came out in droves as Miami was sent packing to Cancun for the spring. Herro connected on a mere 6-of-19 shots for 15 points. He missed on 7-of-8 from three-point range as Miami finished minus-28 in Herro’s 35 minutes of action. One now has to wonder if they use him as trade bait this summer to find another star.
Related: 20 best NBA players of all-time
Winner: Dereck Lively, Dallas Mavericks
Lively’s impact on the Mavericks after they made him a lottery pick in the 2023 NBA Draft can’t go unnoticed. The 7-foot-1 center has given Dallas the necessary length that it had been missing earlier in the Doncic era. This came out in droves as the Mavericks inched closer to advancing in the NBA Playoffs on Wednesday. The former Duke star hit on all five of his shots, scoring 12 points with seven rebounds. He outplayed Clippers bigs in every possible way.
Loser: Paul George, Los Angeles Clippers
