BOSTON — In a film session between Games 4 and 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series, as the Celtics prepared for their first game against the New York Knicks without Jayson Tatum, veterans Jaylen Brown and Al Horford challenged the remaining members of the team to rally for their injured superstar.
“When those two guys are at the front of it,” said Celtics reserve Luke Kornet, “it’s easy to follow course.”
Likewise, Tatum texted his teammates and Celtics staff prior to Game 5. He had ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the final minutes of Monday’s Game 4 loss, when Boston fell behind in the series, 3-1.
That message? “I’m not telling you,” said Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla. Fair enough.
Jaylen Brown didn’t make things easy for Jalen Brunson in Game 5 Wednesday night at the TD Garden. (Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)
(Brian Fluharty via Getty Images)
Whatever the directive, Tatum’s teammates responded as a collective. Derrick White’s 34 points led six Celtics in double figures. Brown totaled 26 points, 8 rebounds and a career-high 12 assists. And Kornet enjoyed what Horford called “a legacy game” with seven blocks in a 127-102 victory at TD Garden.
The win sends the series back to Madison Square Garden for Game 6 on Friday night (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).
From the opening jump, Brown demanded he defend New York’s Jalen Brunson. That responsibility had previously fallen on White and Jrue Holiday. Brown held the All-Star point guard to 22 points (7-of-17 FG). At the heart of his effort, seconds after Kornet tipped in a 63-62 lead early in the third quarter, Brown stripped Brunson, dove into Boston’s bench, saved the ball and drew a raucous ovation from the crowd.
“His leadership came on the defensive end, just with his physicality and his presence,” said Mazzulla, who has never lost a playoff series with a healthy Tatum. “The dive into the bench changed the game for us.”
“Defense,” said Brown of the team’s rallying cry. “That’s all I’m talking about is defense.”
On the ensuing possession, Brown took a pass from Horford, drove and drew a foul from a chasing Brunson. It was the second of his six fouls, all of which occurred in a span of 16 second-half minutes. Karl-Anthony Towns got himself into foul trouble, too. It was not New York’s finest effort on either end.
The Celtics never again trailed. From a tied game at halftime, they built a 91-76 advantage by the end of the third quarter. In that frame, Kornet registered five blocks, anchoring a dominating defensive effort. He started the quarter in the absence of Kristaps Porziņģis, Boston’s 7-foot-2 center, who “couldn’t breathe,” according to Mazzulla, as the result of an unidentified virus that has sapped him of his energy.
The Celtics pushed their lead to as large as 28 points in the fourth quarter. It was their fourth 20-point lead in five games of this series. They blew 20-point advantages in Games 1 and 2 and a 14-point lead in Game 4. They should not be in this position, trailing the series, 3-2, but it is precisely where they are.
“You don’t get to pick the test that you have,” said Mazzulla. “You just pick how you respond to it.”
They picked wisely in Game 5.
Kornet was incredible, collecting 10 points (5-of-5 FG), nine rebounds and his seven blocks. The 7-footer did all the right things, dancing around the rim in the best of ways on both ends. White was electric, scoring 14 points in the opening quarter, another 13 in the third and finishing with seven 3-pointers on 13 attempts. Payton Pritchard, Holiday and Horford added 17 points, 14 points and 12 points, respectively.
But it was Brown who stepped to the forefront. This is his team now, and everyone in the building understood that. The reigning NBA Finals MVP took on the Brunson assignment. He manned the offense, repeatedly driving into the lane and doing what he wanted from there. He could keep going to the rim, pull up over the defense, dump it to a cutter or spray it to any of their 3-point shooters. And he did it all.
“JB was unbelievable on both ends the whole time he was out there,” said White. “He took it on himself to get us going, and we just followed his lead. Great game from him for 48 minutes. He really carried us.”
Together they moved the ball in ways it has not been moving previously in this series. There was democracy in this offense, where both Brown and White hunted and everyone else ate their share. Brown is a four-time All-Star. White can play like one. Holiday, Horford and Porzingis are all former All-Stars. Pritchard is the Sixth Man of the Year. Kornet is basketball IQ personified. This is their team, and it is a formidable one. They have successfully shifted the pressure in this series to New York on the Knicks.
As Mazzulla said, “Four hours ago, we just had to win one game. Now, we just have to win one game.”
Defending a championship is no joke, as the previous five champions have learned, each losing in the second round of the playoffs. Brown has been playing on a balky right knee since mid-March. Porziņģis has his unidentified illness. Holiday strained his right hamstring midway through their first-round series. Horford turns 39 years old next month. And now they must defend this championship without Tatum.
On the other side of one more loss to these Knicks is unimaginable uncertainty. In the offseason, the Celtics are expected to slash what could be a $500 million payroll next season by trading at least one starter, if not two. Horford could retire at the end of this season or next. Kornet is a free agent. This team will look a lot different than it does now if it is proven it cannot win another ring without Tatum.
“Losing JT’s tough, especially for how much work he puts into the game and his body — everything he does to go out and compete every night,” said White. “So to see him go down was tough. But we’ve got a lot of guys out here that are highly competitive, and we didn’t want our season to end tonight.”
Proving the Celtics’ doubters wrong is a monumental task, one that falls most heavily on the shoulders of Tatum’s co-star. How Brown led in Game 5 offered a glimpse of what to expect from Boston next season.
“Be who I am, and I think that’s it,” said Brown. “Just be myself. Come out, be aggressive and get it done in multiple ways. It’s a team. I’ve always preached team. I’ve done whatever to push this team forward, so whatever is needed of me I’m excited to kind of facilitate in whatever role. … The goal is to just lead.”
But first the Celtics have some more playoffs to attend to. It was easy to forget that in the immediate aftermath of Tatum’s injury. It seemed as though all hope was lost — not just for this season but next year, too. Boston heard that noise, and in one film session the Celtics forged a new identity for a night.
“I know it’s easy to kind of write things off,” said Brown. “Obviously it’s unfortunate what happened to JT, but we’ve still got basketball to be played. I believe in this group, so don’t count us out just yet.”
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