Celtics crush Knicks without Jayson Tatum to force Game 6

Forty-eight hours after losing their centerpiece superstar to a potentially career-altering Achilles injury the Celtics delivered an emphatic message to the New York Knicks Even without Jayson Tatum they re still the defending champs And they re not dead yet Facing elimination on its home floor Boston steamrolled the Knicks - to take Contest at TD Garden and extend the Eastern Conference semifinals Battle is Friday at Madison Square Garden Jaylen Brown met the moment in his co-star s absence finishing with points assists eight rebounds one steal and just one turnover while methodically targeting Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns Derrick White was the top scorer for Boston going -for- from -point range and -for- from the foul line for a game-high points Center Luke Kornet was excellent off the bench with points nine rebounds and seven blocks six of which came in the second half as the Celtics built and then protected a double-digit lead They now trail the best-of-seven series - Brunson who skewered the Celtics defense in Competition scored points on -of- shooting before fouling out with remaining White carried the Celtics offense early with another torrid start from distance making his first four -point attempts for the second straight encounter The guard scored nearly half of Boston s first-quarter points with Brown Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser adding one -pointer apiece Pritchard logged a playoff career high minutes in the win He hit five threes scored points and was a plus- Hauser six points in minutes was making his first appearance since Championship of the series having sat out the previous three with an ankle sprain Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla also gave a rare first-quarter cameo to non-rotation wing Torrey Craig who hadn t played a minute outside garbage time since the regular season Craig s assignment might have purely been to foul Mitchell Robinson as played one minute and did so once before heading back to the bench The Celtics have willingly put Robinson on the line throughout the series hoping his poor free-throw shooting would force him off the floor and mitigate his sizable impact as a defender and offensive rebounder But the Knicks big man was uncharacteristically efficient from the line in this one going -for- while racking up rebounds two steals and one block The Knicks led - at the end of one then opened the second quarter with a - run that stretched their lead to nine The shorthanded Celtics responded with an - run of their own setting the stage for a frenetic final seven minutes of the first half that featured seven lead changes and two ties During one especially explosive stretch Boston and New York scored on nine out of possessions including -pointers by Pritchard White and Brown and two threes by Josh Hart who was bloodied earlier in the challenge when he collided with Kornet under the basket The teams entered halftime tied at - Brown was a steadying presence for Boston in the first half complementing White s productive perimeter event with -of- shooting seven rebounds six assists and just one turnover The same could not be explained for Kristaps Porzingis whose lingering viral illness has severely diminished his effectiveness this postseason Making his first start since Encounter the big man went -for- with one rebound and was a minus- in first-half minutes Mazzulla opted to start the second half with Kornet in Porzingis spot and Porzingis watched the rest of the championship from the bench Brown and White remained heavily involved the third quarter The former opened the second half by going face-to-face with Hart during a post-whistle scuffle that resulted in double technical fouls then leaped into the Celtics bench to successfully save a loose ball Brown also effectively attacked Karl-Anthony Towns who picked up his fourth foul less than four minutes after halftime The battle turned on a call moments before that when White was whistled for an offensive foul with the Celtics ahead - Mazzulla challenged the call and won giving White two free throws and Brunson three fouls Boston proceeded to outcome of the next points a flurry that included White s seventh made three of the night and a three-shot foul that he drew on another long-range attempt Brunson also joined Towns in foul trouble during that Celtics surge going from zero fouls at halftime to five by the time the third quarter ended The true star of the quarter though was Kornet The veteran center who s coming off the best season of his whirlwind career blocked five Knicks shots in one six-minute span and followed up the last with an emphatic dunk Kornet played the entire third quarter before giving way to Horford who forthwith hit a three forced a turnover and tipped in a second-chance layup as Boston s lead swelled to Horford then was called for his fifth foul and retreated to the bench at which point Kornet reentered and did not exit until Mazzulla sent in his subs with remaining and the Celtics up by