Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

The Celtics couldn’t have drawn this one up any better. It looked like they one-click ordered this win on Amazon.com, the modern version of a mail-order victory. The Celtics got the offense they’ve been searching for from the supporting cast and held John Wall and the Wizards to 38.5 percent shooting. Game 5 was less a tense competition and more a hoops house party where the Celtics and 18,624 of their guests celebrated early and went home happy. Of course it’s the home team that has left happy in all five games of this series, and all nine games the Celtics and Wizards have played this season.

It wasn’t just how emphatic the Celtics’ victory was. It was how they did it — by defying the narrative that they are dependent on Isaiah Thomas for points. The story of the game was that the Celtics’ supporting cast stepped up and stole the show. There was no need for a 53-point performance from Thomas this time. He could just sit back and enjoy the performance of his teammates. The Wizards’ strategy has been to make anybody but IT beat them, and the Celtics obliged. Avery Bradley set a career playoff high by halftime, scoring 25 of his 29 points in the first half. Al Horford hit his first six shots and stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Jae Crowder added 18 points.

This was easy. Winning in Washington won’t be.

Boston Globe — The Celtics couldn’t have drawn this one up any better

I’m going to issue a hot take, so get out the coppertone and I’m sorry if this one sounds too Felger-ish: It’s way more fun to watch the Celtics wipe the floor with the Wizards at home than it is to watch the Wizards wipe the floor with the Celtics in Washington (STAND BACK– IT’S GETTING HOT IN HERE!).

There is nothing like a home crowd in the playoffs that stands to elevate the collective play of the home team and rattle the nerves and comportment of the road squad. Is it that simple? No– Aztec Gino’s outfit and the specter of Bill Belichick weren’t directly responsible for turning the Celtics defensive intensity up to a 10. All of section 306 chanting “f*ck you Oubre” didn’t turn Avery Bradley into Steph Curry. But great playoff crowds can make a team thankful it won enough games to play that fourth game (if needed) in front of its fans and it’s clear in this series that the Cs are not only more comfortable at the Garden, but are feeding off its energy.

One of the big questions entering the post-season for the Celtics centered on Isaiah Thomas’ ability to dominate offensively over the course of a series the way he did over the course of the season, and what would happen if he couldn’t. A deep Celtics’ playoff run hinged on two answers to that question– yes: Thomas would continue to ball-out and carry the offensive burden, or no: with teams keying in on Thomas, Stevens would make the right adjustments the little guy would ahdere to, and execute on those adjustments and teammates would then pick up the slack.

In game 2 it was answer number one. In game 5, it was answer two. We rarely saw answer two throughout the regular season. Not that the other guys in green are a bunch of stiffs, but Thomas consistently led the Celtics in scoring. How about this for a stat from that four-letter word in Bristol:

The Celtics have been leaning on Thomas to lead their offense this season and postseason. Including the playoffs, Thomas has the last 35 30-point games for the Celtics. The last player other than Thomas to score 30 for Boston was Bradley on Oct. 29.

Last night we got an Isaiah who took what the game gave him and. He admirably set screens and got bounced around like a pinball by bigger guys to give teammates an extra bit of space for open shots (Al Horford and AB The God responded by hitting almost all of them). And we got teammates who answered the call.

What will game six bring? When the only thing consistent in this playoff series has been the influence of home-court, it’s hard to say with confidence that the Celtics have found the formula, but for one night, at least, they showed they can win when the Little Guy takes a back seat.

Related links: 

Globe — Celtics win kudos for best supporting cast

Mass Live — Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics bench  sustain lead in game 5 in win over Washington Wizards

On page 2, AB picked a good time to catch fire

Three nights after he threatened to (expletive) up Marcin Gortat if the officials didn’t start calling him for illegal picks, Avery Bradley widened his target.

Gortat laughed off Bradley’s heat-of-the-moment warning, but today he and the Wizards are laughing out of the short side of a 3-2 series deficit.

And Bradley put them there, choosing to (insert bad word here) not just Gortat, but all of Washington and even a few of the Maryland and Virginia suburbs.

His playoff career-high 29 points were the largest factor in a 123-101 victory last night. He actually beat his previous postseason best by halftime, when he had 25 to eclipse the 24 he had in Game 5 against Chicago two weeks ago. This latest haul has the Celtics one game away from an Eastern Conference finals date with Cleveland.

“He played like he’s supposed to,” said Isaiah Thomas, who made one shot and had five points at the half before finishing with 18. “He played through it. It’s the playoffs, and we need him to play that way. He put his injuries aside and laced his shoes up and played. He was the key to this game on both ends of the floor — offensively, defensively. He did it all, and we need that from him; especially even in Game 6 we’re going to need that from him.

“I’m proud of him. I told him before the game that I believe in him and he’s going to have a big game, and he did.”

Thomas and even Celtics TV play-by-play man Mike Gorman texted Bradley prior to this one.

“They told me they felt like it was going to be a big game for me,” he confirmed.

Herald — Avery Bradley comes out firing and torches Wizards in game 5

Avery Bradley is Mr. First Quarter. I promise that isn’t a knock on how he plays in quarters 2-4, but I’m so confident AB is going to curl off a couple of screen, receive handoff near the top of the key, and drill 18-foot jumpers at any time during the first 12 minutes of a Celtics game, that I feel as though I don’t even need to continue watching.

Last night, though, the shots kept on coming. Avery Bradley wasn’t the only reason the Cs won last night, but he is the biggest reason the green kept the Wizards at arm’s length during the first half. The longest tenured Celtic picked a great time to have the best playoff performance of his career.

Also, can we confirm how much it helps to get a text or a phone call from a teammate, NBA legend, or basketball-lifer between games in the post-season? Is it the new “Kobe goes to Germany to magically get his knee fixed?” Kobe calls Isaiah and he goes for 50+. Isaiah pays it forward and calls Avery. Mike Gorman, who gets to transition from play-by-play legend to Celtics whisperer this time of year, also calls Bradley and tells him he will be great. And it works. I have a big meeting coming up tomorrow morning. Can I get a call? It can be a rotation guy, a Celtics legend, hell, I’ll take a call from Micah Shrewsberry. I just want in on this magic ASAP.

Related links: 

Mass Live — Al Horford, Avery Bradley, help Boston Celtics roll

Boston Globe — As a matter of fact, Celtics Avery Bradley was terrific

CSNNE — Bradley did it all for Celtics in game 5  |  Bradley steps up, as Celtics handily defeat Wizards

The rest of the links: 

ESPNBoston — Celtics flip script on Washington Wizards

CSNNE — Thomas finds himself in role of Celtics playmaker

Mass Live– Washington Wizards react to vulgar chant directed at Kelly Oubre Jr.: ‘It’s Boston, man’

The Ringer — The Celtics finally played like a 1-seed, 11 games into the playoffs

CBSSports — Al Horford shows that the celtics do, on certain nights, have a second star