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The Boston Celtics came into their second-round series against the New York Knicks as prohibitive favorites. They go into Game 6 at Madison Square Garden fighting for their lives. After losing superstar Jayson Tatum to a brutal Achilles tear in Game 4, the Celtics were able to win Game 5 at the TD Garden to remain alive.
Winning in Game 6 in a hostile environment seems to be an even more difficult task, but the Celtics apparently have a warrior mentality as they head into the game. Guard Payton Pritchard, who has been one of head coach Joe Mazzulla's most valuable performers in the series, said the Celtics were “ready for war” in what either will be the last game of the series or the one that allows the Celtics to force a decisive Game 7.
The Celtics also received a visit from Tatum, as the star forward made the trip to New York City Thursday following surgery. He got out of the hospital and saw his teammates at their hotel.
“It was really good seeing him, obviously he’s out of surgery,” Pritchard said, per Khari Thompson of the Boston Globe. “He seemed like he was in really good spirits and stuff.”
“Honestly, he’s probably about to be stir crazy for a while now, but it was just good when you see one of your brothers, your teammates, go through a situation like that and you just want to be there to comfort him with anything he needs.”
Celtics will be depending on Jaylen Brown for leadership
The 1-2 punch of Tatum and Brown led the Celtics to the NBA title a year ago, but now it's up to Brown to provide much of the leadership. He certainly came through in the Game 5 127-102 victory when he scored 26 points and added 8 rebounds and 12 assists.
It was far from a one-man show for the Celtics and Derek White led the way with 34 points on 9 of 16 shooting that included 7 of 13 from beyond the arc. Pritchard scored 17 points off the bench, point guard Jrue Holiday had 14 points for the victors and Al Horford added 12 points.
The Celtics were able to limit star Knicks guard Jalen Brunson to 22 points. They are going to need another strong defensive effort if they are going to keep the Knicks from winning the series.
