Celtics Win Game 5, 127-102, Without Tatum

 

It was almost more than I dared hope for. All season long, I've noticed that the other players on the Celtics all play better when Tatum is out of the lineup. It's as if without a superstar to chuck the ball to on every drive, all the other players step up their game.  

They proved it tonight. Derrick White scored 34 points, including seven threes, and Jaylen Brown got a double double with 26 points and 12 assists. Luke Kornet scored 10 points off the bench, but also snagged nine rebounds and made seven blocks, more than the entire rest of the team combined. 

The Celtics outscored New York 32-17 in the third quarter, but those of us still PTSD'd from the three games where we blew double-digit leads didn't feel safe until the closing minutes of the fourth. 

Down 3 games to 1, with their superstar player out for the rest of the postseason, the Celtics rose to the occasion and decisively won a  must-win game. With the series now 3-2, it's on to Game 6 in New York on Friday.

This win was nearly too much to hope for. Is a Game 6 win, or even a series win, too much to ask? Nothing's for certain anymore and that just makes these remaining games all the more exciting.