THE Boston Celtics staved off outright elimination and did it without their main man as they trounced the New York Knicks, 127-102, in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Thursday (Philippine time), May 15.

Boston cut the series deficit to 2-3, but surviving another do-or-die game will be daunting as Game 6 will be in New York on Saturday, May 17.

Boston played without Jayson Tatum, who underwent a season-ending Achilles tendon injury. The six-time All-Star suffered the injury in Boston’s 113-121 loss in Game 4.

Looking to become just the 14th team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in 294 attempts, the Celtics hardly missed the absence of Tatum, big thanks to Derrick White, who hit seven triples to finish with a game-high 34 points. Jaylen Brown tossed in 26 points as the Celtics had six players scoring in double figures.

Payton Pritchard added 17 points, Jrue Holiday contributed 14, while Al Horford and Luke Kornet pitched in 12 and 10, respectively.

Brown and Kornet were all over the court for Boston. Brown also had 12 assists and eight rebounds while Kornet wound up with nine boards and seven blocks.

Josh Hart led the Knicks with 24 points while Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Miles McBride had 22, 19, and 11, respectively.(CCM)

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• #NBA Playoffs
• #Boston Celtics
• #New York Knicks
• #Game 5
• #Easter Conference
• #Semifinals
• #Jayson Tatum