With their backs against the wall, facing elimination without Jayson Tatum who suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon, the Boston Celtics got back on track in Game 5 at home. The Celtics defeated the New York Knicks 127-102 on Wednesday night, getting them back into the series and they’ll head to Madison Square Garden on Friday night looking to force a Game 7.
In Tatum’s absence, Boston’s production was led by Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, but their energy was carried by the second half performance of big man Luke Kornet off the bench. Boston now heads back to enemy territory and they’ll need another strong performance top to bottom in order to give themselves a chance in a potential Game 7 matchup.
Here’s a quick recap of Boston’s victory over New York in Game 5 where Derrick White led the way with 34 points and Jaylen Brown added 26 points, 12 assists, and 8 rebounds in the win, while Jalen Brunson fouled out for the Knicks.
Keys to the game:
Aggressive offense: Even in a game where the Celtics were still shooting plenty from the 3-point line, there overall theme on offense in this game was aggressiveness. Totaling 36 points in the paint and grabbing 44 rebounds, Boston was just as active inside the paint as they were from deep and the balance paid off. The shot selection and rhythm of the offense appeared a lot more smooth and efficient in this victory.
Luke Kornet: If a game ball was given out after this victory, there should be no doubt that Luke Kornet earned it. After playing just eight minutes in Game 4, Kornet showed up ina big way, getting a career-high 7 blocks in Game 5, and added 10 points and 9 rebounds in just 26 minutes of play. The energy by Kornet kept the team’s momentum in the second half, which was incredibly key after they had blown several leads throughout the series.
Highlight of the game: Luke Kornet slams down the alley-oop after picking up his 7th block
What’s next: Game 6 @ New York Knicks, Friday, May 16, 8:00PM ET on ESPN
The Boston Celtics are back at Madison Square Garden where they won of two games in this series, looking to force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They will have plenty of momentum coming into the matchup after their Game 5 performance, but will need to keep it going and not have a dump of energy. New York will be a buzz on their home court, and Boston will have to silence the crowd early, and keep their lead like they did in Game 3 and 5, or they’ll see their season come to an unfortunate end.
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