BOSTON — Jayson Tatum’s injury was absolutely devastating for the Celtics, and in the moment, it showed.
After Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon in Monday’s Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks, the mood around the Celtics was understandably somber. Boston had just lost its franchise cornerstone and gone down 3-1 to the Knicks in their second-round series, seemingly ending the team’s quest to repeat while altering the trajectory of a squad that aimed to win multiple championships.
But the Celtics still had a game to play Wednesday night. So on Tuesday, with a do-or-die Game 5 looming the following night at TD Garden, veterans Jaylen Brown and Al Horford decided to address the team to help shift the mindset.
“JB and Al talked to us, and they did a great job of really just understanding the situation,” Celtics big man Luke Kornet told reporters after Boston’s Game 5 rout of the Knicks. “Understanding that we have a game to play, and to go out and represent ourselves well and play hard — I feel like those two led the way in that.”
Kornet noted that Brown and Horford both acknowledged the harsh reality of Tatum’s injury — which could keep him out most if not all of the 2025-26 season — but urged their teammates not to give up the fight.
“I feel like they’re very aware of the situation, so there’s definitely a part of expressing that, and all of us kind of recognizing that and being in that,” Kornet added. “But at the same time, we do have an opportunity to move forward. We’ve just got to take it one game at a time, and the goal for today was just to make it back to New York.”
The Celtics succeeded in that goal, with Brown in particular leading the charge. The Celtics star delivered one of his best all-around performances of the season, tallying 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting (3-of-5 from 3-point range) along with eight rebounds and a playoff career-high 12 assists. Brown also played excellent defense on Knicks star Jalen Brunson, who fouled out early in the fourth quarter.
“Just come out and play,” Brown said of the message he and Horford delivered to the team. “Obviously, the air kind of left the room after hearing the news with JT. So, we didn’t want to go out like that.
“We didn’t want to make no excuses. We didn’t want to come out and give up or just turn the season in like what everybody else probably would expect. So we just said to the guys, said to each other, let’s come out, keep an open mind. Just come out and play basketball.
“Be ready to go and guard your ass off and take it from there.”
Brown has long embraced a leadership role on this team, even with Tatum in the fold. But the last two days presented an opportunity for the nine-year veteran to step up even further in that department, and he rose to the challenge with both his words and his actions.
“We want to stay the course throughout the game, but when those two guys are at the front of it and lead you into it, it’s easy to just follow course and do the best you can,” Kornet added.
The Celtics still trail the Knicks 3-2 and will need to win Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on Friday to keep their season alive. But for one game at least, Brown and his teammates showed they still have some fight in them.
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