BSJ Game 5 Report: Celtics 127, Knicks 102 - Brown's near triple-double, Kornet's defense save season

Everything you need to know about the Celtics' win over the Knicks in Game 5 of their East semifinal series, with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

Derrick White started hot and Luke Kornet gave them a mid-quarter boost, but New York’s late run gave them a two-point lead heading into the second quarter. They extended that run to start the second, but Boston answered and tied the game at halftime. Kornet started the third for an ineffective Kristaps Porzingis and dominated with five blocked shots, helping Boston to a 15-point lead. The Celtics continued their onslaught in the fourth, pulling way and extending the series. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Holy Luke Kornet: He gave Boston a nice little boost earlier in the game, but what he did in the third quarter was special. 

“He was unbelievable,” White said. “He came in and just seemed to always be in the right position. Seven blocks is crazy. He was unbelievable tonight and really stepped up when we needed him. He's had a great season and was big-time for us tonight."

Look at this guy!

Incredible sequence.

- Playing Celtics basketball: The Celtics moved the ball well, pushed the pace more than they have been, shot a good, but not egregious amount of 3-pointers, and defended well. After a slow start, the Celtics got into a groove and looked like themselves. 

- Live to fight another day: The obituaries were written after Jayson Tatum’s injury, but the Celtics refused to go gentle into that good night. As bad as they’ve looked at times, they weren’t ready to pack it in quite yet. The Tatum injury makes things tougher for them, but they have played without him before, and they have a lot of very good players capable of doing a lot. 

TURNING POINT 

The Celtics went on a 16-3 run in the third quarter to turn a one-point lead into a 14-point lead. You can extend the run to the end of the third quarter if you want, which would make it a 23-9 run. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Luke Kornet: He completely changed the game with his defense in the third quarter. His seven total blocks were a career-high. 

“Some nights it’s weird where it feels like the plays just kind of line up,” Kornet said. “It’s hard to really say anything other than you’re just kind of reacting to what’s happening. I feel like just being in the right spots and trying to be aggressive. Yeah, sometimes it sort of feels that same kind of way.”

I’ve said this before about Kornet, but I think having a guy out there who is a no-brainer last option offensively helps. He knows he’s never going to be the focal point of the system, so he’s going to set picks, rebound, and try to make an impact defensively to stay on the floor. The Celtics need guys like him as much as they need the do-it-all guys. Sometimes the ability to do some of everything makes guys try to do too much.

- Jaylen Brown: This was the perfect way for him to step up in Tatum’s absence. There were a couple of possessions where he was dead-set on isolating, but that's not a big deal when he played the way he did in this game. 

“I think his leadership came on the defensive end,” Joe Mazzulla said. “Ithought his dive into the bench kind of changed the game for us. There was other game-changing plays, but I thought that was one of them. So he was just great on all levels. Just took it upon himself to guard Brunson, set the tone, and he did that on both ends.”

26 points and 12 assists is absolutely perfect. He was 3-5 from 3, which is the perfect amount of 3s for him. He added eight rebounds for good measure. Incredible game from Brown after a rough Game 4 in New York. 

- Derrick White: Picked up the scoring slack in a monster way with 34 points on 7-13 shooting from 3. 

"It felt good. I got really good looks, especially to start the game,” White said. “It's always nice to get those good looks and just shoot it with confidence, so shoutout to my teammates for finding me, and I've just got to rise up there and knock them down."

And of course he had three blocked shots of his own. 

- Playing faster: If there's any positive to playing without Tatum, it’s that the Celtics tend to play faster.

“Our guys were moving,” Brown said. “We played with pace and were able to find guys on open shots."

This is the key to beating the Knicks without Tatum. Keep pushing the pace and force them into positions where they have to make decisions. They are not as good a defensive team as they’ve shown. Part of them playing better defense has been the stand around isolation crap that lets them load up and prepare their help. Moving exposes their flaws. 

- Payton Pritchard: More Pritchard means more speed. He hit five 3-pointers on his way to 17 points, but more impressively, he got onto the offensive glass three times. 

- Al Horford: A solid 12 point, five rebound, two assist, one block game.

- Jrue Holiday: He broke free for a bunch of shots at the rim on his way to a 14 point night. He also added seven rebounds and three assists.

- Sam Hauser: He went 2-5 from 3 on his first night back from a sprained ankle and held his own. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Kristaps Porzingis: Mazzulla said Porzingis couldn't breathe out there, which is why he sat in the second half. I don’t believe that. Porzingis looked good and happy before the game, going through warmups well. I think he just played terribly. But even if we give him the benefit of the doubt on this one, the leash on Porzingis has to be shorter at this point. 

- Missed free throws: They shot 17-26 from the line, just 65%. It didn’t matter tonight but it will if they keep that up.

HIGHLIGHTS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Not anticipating this being how the series would go is on me. 

I should have known better than to think this would be easy. While they got away from it last year for the most part, one of the hallmarks of this team is their inability to handle prosperity while thriving with their backs against the wall. I feel like I should have factored in more effing around and finding out in my prediction. 

Now that everyone thinks they're dead, they're in prime position to take off. My only fear is a Game 7 disaster at home after everyone jumps back onto their bandwagon following a Game 6 win. 

I won’t worry about that yet. First order of business is to take that game Friday night in NYC.

- They need to go back to Porzingis to start Game 6. 

This will be met with resistance, but the Celtics have no real choice but to figure out if they’ll have good Porzingis or not. I don't want them messing with the game too much, but we really never know when Porzingis will snap out of this funk of his. 

The only way to know is to play him. But like I said before, the leash has to be short. If he sucks early, then try to win without him. 

Next up: Game 6 is at Madison Square Garden on Friday night at 8 p.m.