Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and the Celtics never trailed, rolling past the Toronto Raptors 111-89 in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Monday night. 

Boston now holds a 3-2 series lead over the reigning NBA champions and can earn a trip to the East finals on Wednesday. 

"We were playing with great purpose," Boston coach Brad Stevens said. "You could feel that from the get-go."

Kemba Walker scored 21 for the Celtics, whose starters outscored Toronto's starters by a whopping 93-45. Jayson Tatum scored 18, Daniel Theis and Brad Wanamaker each had 15 and Marcus Smart added 12 for Boston. 

"I know it sounds crazy ... but I thought our offense was awesome for like the first eight minutes," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. "I thought it was awesome. I don't think those shots could have been more open."

In another game, Paul George scored 32 points and Kawhi Leonard added 23 as the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted the Denver Nuggets 113-107 to grab a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series near Orlando. 

The Clippers trailed by as many as 12 in the first half but were able to move two victories away from a berth in the Western Conference finals. Leonard grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds and added a team-best six assists. 

The Clippers trailed 97-90 before going on an 8-0 run over a 1:28 stretch midway through the final quarter to grab a 98-97 advantage. Los Angeles extended the run to 14-4, taking a 104-101 lead with 4:27 remaining on a step-back jumper by Leonard. 

When Lou Williams made a driving layup with 2:04 remaining, the Clippers held a 109-103 advantage, their largest of the game to that point. 

Nikola Jokic had 32 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, becoming the first player in Nuggets history with 14 career playoff games of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. 

(With input from agencies)