It would have been easy for the depleted Celtics to punt on Wednesday’s game, admit defeat and get an early start on their offseason.
They were, after all, staring at a daunting 3-1 series deficit and still processing what they’d witnessed two nights earlier: Jayson Tatum writhing in pain from the ruptured Achilles tendon that likely will sideline the six-time All-Star until sometime in 2026.
The discussion surrounding the team already had rapidly shifted. The focus was no longer on whether the Celtics could win a second straight NBA championship, but rather on what major roster alterations they’ll need to make this offseason to account for both Tatum’s devastating absence and the franchise’s sky-high luxury tax bill.
Tatum’s teammates did not share that outlook. Jaylen Brown made sure of that.
When the Celtics reconvened at their Auerbach Center practice facility on Tuesday for a walkthrough and film study, Brown and fellow veteran leader Al Horford addressed the team, imploring players not to let the loss of Tatum, as seismic as it was, crush their resolve.
Boston proceeded to play inspired basketball in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, avoiding elimination with a 127-102 battering of the New York Knicks at TD Garden. Another win Friday at Madison Square Garden would force a winner-take-all Game 7 back in Boston on Monday.
“(The message was) just come out and play,” Brown 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, and we were able to find a way to win tonight.”
Brown led his team on the court, as well. He scored 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting (3-of-5 from 3-point range), grabbed eight rebounds and dished out 12 assists, a new career high for the ninth-year pro. Brown cleaned up his turnovers and his fouling (two of each) after struggling in both areas in Game 4, and he made a seried of impact plays that resonated beyond the box score, most notably his Marcus Smart-esque dive into the Celtics bench to save a loose ball and spark a third-quarter fast break.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla believed that hustle play “changed the game” for the Celtics, who were holding a slim one-point lead at the time. Two minutes later, they were up 14.
“I think his leadership came on the defensive end, just with his physicality and his presence,” Mazzulla said. “I thought 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. He was just great on all levels. Just took it upon himself to guard (Jalen) Brunson, set the tone, and he did that on both ends.”
Celtics guards Jrue Holiday and Derrick White were primarily responsible for guarding Brunson, New York’s All-Star point guard and leading scorer, over the first four games of the series, but Brown took on that assignment Wednesday, guarding Bruson on more than half of the possessions when both were on the floor. Brunson scored 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting before fouling out with more than seven minutes remaining.
Brown had a hand in that, too, as he frequently targeted Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns as defenders in the second half. Brunson was called for five fouls in the third quarter alone, and Towns picked up his fourth shortly after halftime.
“(Brunson’s) tough,” Brown said. “I give him all the credit in the world. He’s tough. He uses his body well. He’s physical. He knows how to sell and get those calls. He’s crafty. He makes tough shots and he likes those big moments. My goal was to just stay between him and the basket and just play defense as best as they allowed me to. I tried to keep my hands back without fouling. But just guard. I feel like I can guard with the best of them. Just trying to keep our hands and motivate our team, as well, on defense.”
After allowing 121 points on Monday in what Brown called a “terrible” defensive performance, the Celtics held the Knicks below 105 points in regulation for the fourth time in the series. Offensively, Boston averaged 1.396 points per possession, the third-best single-game mark by any team this postseason. Brown’s personal 145.8 offensive rating was his best in any playoff game in which he played more than six minutes.
“JB was unbelievable, both sides of the ball, the whole time he was out there,” said White, who led all scorers with 34 points and hit seven 3-pointers, three of which came off Brown assists. “He took it on himself to get us going, and we just followed his lead. Great game for 48 minutes, and he really carried us.”
It was the type of all-around excellence the Celtics sorely needed from the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, who also came through in the lone game Tatum missed earlier in the playoffs (36 points, 12-of-19, 10 rebounds, five assists, one steal in a Game 2 win over Orlando). And they’ll need more of it moving forward.
With Tatum likely to miss at least a large chunk of next season, Brown is now the Celtics’ top-billed star for the foreseeable future — the first time he’s held that title in his pro career.
“(I want to) just be who I am, and I think that’s it,” Brown said. “Just be myself, come out, be aggressive, and get it done in multiple ways. It’s a team, we’ve always been a team. I’ve always preached team. I’ve done whatever to kind of push this team forward. So whatever is needed on me. I’m excited to be able to facilitate in whatever role, so it could change each game, each night, defensively, offensively. But the goal is to just lead. Just be myself.”