Test, aced.
The Celtics rained 41 points on the Miami Heat in the first quarter, including 15 by their most reliable player, Derrick White, and cruised to an utterly suspenseless 118-84 victory in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series Wednesday night.
With the victory, the Celtics’ third straight after the Heat pilfered Game 2 with an outlier of a shooting performance, they advance to the second round to face the winner of the Cavaliers-Magic matchup between the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds.
While the Heat – a perennial nuisance and frequent nemesis who sent the Celtics home last season in the seven-game Eastern Conference Finals – have been dismissed until next season, school has not been, not yet.