NEW YORK (AP) — A championship window seemed to be closing when the Boston Celtics left Madison Square Garden earlier this week.
Jayson Tatum had just been carried off the court with a season-ending injury minutes before the Celtics were pushed to the brink of elimination. The players were decidedly down.
The defending NBA champions are certainly not out.
They return to New York on Friday night for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, believing they can extend the series and the Knicks' 25-year wait to get back to the conference finals.
“It’s win or go home at this moment, so none of us want to go home and so we understand it’s only going to get tougher,” Celtics guard Derrick White said. “We haven’t done anything yet. Just got to find a way to go to New York and win a game.”
Only 13 teams have overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a series. The Celtics are trying to do it without their leading scorer, who ruptured his right Achilles tendon late in the Knicks' 121-113 victory in Game 4.
“I know it’s kind of easy to write things off. Obviously unfortunate what happened to JT. But we’ve still got basketball to be played,” Celtics star Jaylen Brown said. “I believe in this group, so don’t count us out just yet.”
The Celtics rolled to a 127-102 victory on Wednesday and have led by at least 14 points in the second half of all five games. The Knicks rallied to win three of them, but the starters know they can't keep putting the team into a hole.
“We need to be better,” Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson said. “Flat out.”
A victory would send the Knicks into the conference finals for the first time since they lost to the Indiana Pacers in 2000. The Pacers would be the opponent again, having eliminated top-seeded Cleveland, in a series that would begin Wednesday in New York.
If the Celtics win, Game 7 would be in Boston on Monday, with the winner getting just one day of rest before hosting the Pacers.
White scored 34 points in Game 5 and is 13 for 24 from 3-point range in the last two games. Brown comes off 26 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds and has scored at least 19 points in all five games, a reminder that the Celtics go far beyond Tatum.
“They’re defending champions," Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said. "So obviously losing Tatum is a big blow for their team, but we know they’re more than capable of beating anyone on any night.”
Boston Celtics at New York Knicks
When/where to watch: Game 6, 8 p.m. EDT (ESPN).
Series: Knicks lead 3-2.
BetMGM Sportsbook: Celtics by 2.5.
What to know: The Knicks have not won a series on their home floor since the 1999 Eastern Conference finals. They failed in their lone chance this year, when they lost to Detroit in Game 5 of their first-round series. As starting center Kristaps Porzingis struggles to stay on the floor because of lingering effects of a virus that saps his energy, the Celtics may have found another option in Game 5. Luke Kornet — like Porzingis a former Knicks big man — came off the bench and had 10 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots. He provided the kind of boost the Knicks need from Towns, their All-Star who battled foul trouble and has made just two 3-pointers in the series. The Celtics, who won a league-high 33 road games during the regular season, are 3-1 at Madison Square Garden this season.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
Brian Mahoney, The Associated Press
