There's a big white board facing the players in the Celtics locker room. Before Game 5, there was a big reminder written on it that TNT was going to grab a player after the third quarter for an interview. That interview is usually reserved for a player making a big impact at the time, so naturally they grabbed Luke Kornet.
“When that happened I was like, ‘Oh, OK, sure,’” Kornet said, admitting he was a bit surprised by the choice. “But you just sort of take it. I unfortunately was a little tired and didn’t have my usual wit and charm … I didn’t really have my best showing.”
It was the only time Kornet was lacking on the floor in the Celtics win over the Knicks Wednesday night. His third quarter was especially dominant, with five blocks, five rebounds, and four points while playing all 12 minutes.
No wonder he was tired.
“Luke was huge tonight, defensively and offensively, like he was stellar,” Jaylen Brown said. “That's the type of performance we need in the playoffs. Defensively, getting stops, making plays, big finishes, he got the backwards lob. Luke was great tonight.”
Kornet was pressed into service when Kristaps Porzigis once again couldn't play like his normal self. Porzingis played only 12 minutes, none after halftime, putting Kornet in position to pick up a lot of slack.
“I feel like it was just trying to make plays,” Kornet said. “Obviously our season's on the line, so trying to have just a lot of energy and make plays. I feel like it was everybody. I feel like everybody stepped up and we were very connected and very just aggressive and forceful and obviously did our job for the day and we have to go out and do it again. It'll require different things on Friday, but just keep that same mentality and just do whatever it takes.”
The Celtics recalibrated themselves after Game 5, knowing that Jayson Tatum was gone after rupturing his Achilles tendon. Tatum texted words of support to his teammates before the game, which added to the message Brown and Al Horford sent the day before.
“We had our meeting in film and walkthrough and stuff yesterday, just kind of JB and Al spoke and talked to us, and I feel like they did a great job of understanding the situation,” Kornet said. “And at the same time, it’s like, understanding we do have a game to play and to go out and represent ourselves well and to play hard. I’d say those two really led the way on that. We stayed the course throughout the game, but obviously when those two guys are at the front of it and lead you into it, it’s easy to kind of follow course.”
Brown said his message was simple.
“Just come out and play,” he said. “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. Like, just come out and play basketball. Be ready to go and guard your ass off and take it from there.”
The Celtics did that in Game 5, especially in the second half where they held New York to 43 points. Boston’s entire 25-point margin of victory was compiled after halftime.
“I can't remember how many offensive rebounds they had in the first half, but it felt like a lot, and I think we minimized that in the third quarter,” Joe Mazzulla said. “We were able to take some of those away. But yeah, I mean, usually if there's a less-than-25-point quarter, you didn't foul, you got back in transition, and you rebounded the basketball at a high level. I think we had one turnover in the second half, so we were able to generate most of our possessions into shots, and we have to be able to continue to do that.”
The Celtics had to play almost perfect basketball to win and force Game 6, but that's always been within their grasp. They have the talent to beat a lot of teams, even without their best player. They have the basketball acumen to string together plays, go on runs, and create separation. The talk now is about life without Tatum, which is almost certainly going to be difficult overall, but the Celtics don’t have time to worry about that right now.
Kornet and Payton Pritchard can both claim significant responsibility for Boston’s two wins so far. There might be two others who can do the same over the next week, and the beauty of this team is that we don’t know who it could be. Everyone is a candidate.
“That's just who they are as people, just the character of those guys,” Mazzulla said. “All these guys have been around the league a long time. They've seen a lot, and to me, you just rely on the character of the guys, the togetherness, the staff. At the end of the day, you don't get to pick the test that you have. You just pick how you respond to them, and that's kind of how life works.”