After the devastating injury to Jayson Tatum at the end of Game 4, it wouldn’t have surprised if the Boston Celtics came out flat or were demoralized for Game 5, especially down 3-1 in the series. But Boston isn’t a one-man team and is still very talented. In addition, the Celtics are still the defending champions, and showed the heart of one on Wednesday.
Boston battled in the first quarter, losing it by only two points. It got those two points back in the second quarter and went into the locker room tied at 59.
Then the third quarter happened. More specifically, that’s when the legend of Luke Kornet was born. Starting the second half for Kristaps Porzingis, Kornet was a force at both ends of the floor and helped the Celtics win the quarter, 32-17. Boston then cruised to the 127-102 victory.
New York shot 40% from downtown, but ended up 35.8% from the field. Kornet was a big reason for that discrepancy, as he blocked seven shots. The Celtics racked up 12 on the night!
Now the series heads back to MSG in NYC, where the crowd is going to be rowdy and raucous.
DraftKings Sportsbook has NYK -2.5 over BOS at home with the total at 209.5.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $400K Shootaround [$100K to 1st] (BOS at NYK)
Boston Celtics at New York Knicks
Captain’s Picks
Payton Pritchard ($10,800 CP): With Tatum out for Game 4, Pritchard played 39 minutes off the bench. He shot 6-of-17 from the field and 5-of-14 from downtown for 17 points. He also chipped in five rebounds, three assists and a steal. His offense is going to be needed once again and there’s a good chance he plays over 30 minutes. Pritchard did go over 50 FPTS five times during the regular season, with a high of 69.5 FPTS. Granted, most of those games were against terrible teams, but it shows that he can get hot and put up tons of fantasy goodies. The salary is decent for the expected playing time and usage while it allows you to fit in more higher-priced players in the UTIL slots.
UTIL Plays
Luke Kornet ($4,400): The range of outcomes is very wide for Kornet. Porzingis is not on the injury report, so there’s a chance the two days off helped to clear him of his illness, which could mean at least 25 minutes for him. If Porzingis plays and is effective, then Kornet won’t see much playing time. That said, Porzingis has been horrible this series, and the mystery illness is a likely reason why. He was still having trouble breathing on Wednesday, so I have skepticism that Porzingis is anywhere close to 100 percent. With how well Kornet played in Game 4, I think he sees significant playing time.
Sam Hauser ($3,200): Hauser was dealing with an ankle injury, but he’s off the injury report. He played 15 minutes in Game 4 and finished with 11.25 FPTS on six points, a rebound and two assists. His ability to space the floor will likely be needed without Tatum in the mix. He’s also a decent defender, so 20+ minutes is possible. Hauser doesn’t contribute much outside of treys and points, but he can get scorching hot and go for over 30 FPTS in 20 minutes of action.
Jalen Brunson ($10,800): You didn’t think I’d forget about the new King of New York, did you? Brunson is the alpha for the Knicks offense, and in front of what should be a wild MSG crowd, I have little doubt that he balls out. He will likely end up in the 40-to-50 FPTS area, but he did pop off for 66.25 FPTS in Game 4, so a ceiling game wouldn’t surprise me.
Fades
Mikal Bridges ($8,200): I hate to do it. Sorry to my homies out in New York, but Bridges can be so infuriating at times. And trust me, those New Yorkers make my head hurt with all the complaining. Outside of last game, though, Bridges has been pretty good this series. There were so many fluff articles about how those five first-round picks that the Knicks gave up for him were well worth it now. I think Bridges has another poor game, so I’m expecting tons of chatter and articles about how it was so egregious that the Knicks gave up five first-round picks for him.
THE OUTCOME
Game 5 was the Legend of Luke Kornet game. Game 6 will be the Perfect Playoff Payton Pritchard game as the Celtics force a Game 7 on Monday.
Final Score: Celtics 108, Knicks 104
