The Boston Celtics beat the New York Knicks 127-102 in Game 5 to send the series back to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.
“We didn’t want to go out like that,” said Jaylen Brown after the game. “We didn’t want to make no excuses. We didn’t want to come out and give up or just turn the season into what everybody else probably would expect.”
Brown finished the game with 26 points, 12 assists, and eight rebounds.
Joe Mazzulla, Al Horford, and Brown spoke to the team prior to the game after Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles in Game 4.
“We just said to the guys, said to each other, ‘Let’s come out, keep an open mind,'” Brown said. “Just come out, play basketball.”
Luke Kornet finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, and seven blocks playing for Kristaps Porzingis, who did not appear in the second half due to a respiratory illness.
With the score tied at halftime, Kornet had five blocks in the third quarter as the Celtics opened up a 15 point lead.
Game 6 takes place on Friday.