In an emotional first showing since Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum suffered a season-ending Achilles injury, the defending NBA champions refused to go down without a fight.
Instead, facing elimination in Game 5 of its Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Knicks, Boston willed its way to a statement 127-102 victory, benefiting from career performances throughout its lineup. The Celtics are now 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, with Game 6 slated for Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
Boston connected on 22 three-pointers in what was its first home win of the series, with seven of those treys coming off the fingertips of Derrick White. White led all scorers with 34 points, including 13 in what proved to be the decisive third quarter.
“Losing JT is tough,” White told reporters after the game. “But we’ve got a lot of guys that are highly competitive, and we didn’t want the season to end tonight.”
That competitiveness was on display early and often, as the Celtics, who trailed by two after the first quarter, outscored the Knicks in each of the final three frames to seal the 25-point victory. On offense, Boston made a point of targeting Knicks guard Jalen Brunson with numerous drives to the paint, resulting in the two-time All-Star playing through early foul trouble and eventually fouling out with a little more than seven minutes to play.
In the decisive third quarter, Boston ended the frame on a 23-9 run to take a 15-point advantage into the fourth. And unlike their previous too losses in Boston earlier in the series, they hung on to that lead.
“We did what was necessary to do, what we needed to do, to get it back to New York,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said of his team’s effort. “You don’t get to pick the test that you have, you pick how you respond to them.”
For White, the game-high 34 points was just shy of a playoff high — he dropped 38 points in a first-round win over Miami last season. But Boston did see some career-best performances from the likes of Jaylen Brown and Luke Kornet.
Brown was a beast from the onset, and finished with a near-triple-double 26 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds, and one block. The 12 assists were the most of his playoff career. And Luke Kornet, who played substantial minutes in the second half, registered a career-high seven blocks to complement his 10 points and nine rebounds.
“He was great. Just both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said of Kornet’s performance. “His presence was good. … He made some big-time plays for us.”
Kornet was forced to play added minutes because of the continued struggles of starting center Kristaps Porzingis, who registered just one point on 0-for-3 shooting in his 12 minutes of action. Mazzulla told reporters after the game that Porzingis is still reeling from the effects of a respiratory illness he’s been dealing with for more than a month.
“I mean, he couldn’t breathe,” Mazzulla said of Porzingis. “So, he was available if absolutely necessary.”
Luckily for Boston, those drastic measurers weren’t necessary as the home team, up by more than 20, was able to empty its bench with more than two minutes to play. Payton Pritchard added 17 points off the bench for the Celtics with help from five three-pointers, while Jrue Holiday (14 points, seven rebounds, three assists) and Al Horford (12 points, five rebounds) also made significant contributions.
The Knicks, meanwhile, had just four players score in double figures, led by a 24-point effort from Josh Hart (seven rebounds) and 22-point performance from Brunson (six assists). Karl-Anthony Towns (19 points, eight rebounds) and Miles McBride (11 points, three assists) also played well for New York.
The Celtics will now head back to New York’s Madison Square Garden where they have the comfort of knowing they just beat the Knicks by 22 points in Game 3 — albeit with Tatum. That being said, Boston is now 10-2 in games played without Tatum this season when including the regular season and playoffs.
If Boston can get the job done Friday night, it will then shift its focus in becoming just the 14th team in NBA history to win a series after trailing 3-1. But first thing’s first, and that’s Game 6.
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