Two minutes into the second half of Wednesday night’s must-win game at TD Garden, things looked dire for the Celtics’ frontcourt.
Al Horford had just picked up his fourth foul with 20 minutes still to play. Kristaps Porzingis had tried to play through his persistent illness but couldn’t do so effectively, posting a minus-12 with one point and one rebound over 12 brutal first-half minutes.
Porzingis “couldn’t breathe” at halftime, according to head coach Joe Mazzulla, so it was decided he would not reenter the game unless Boston “absolutely needed him.”
How did the Celtics solve this personnel problem? With a whole lot of Luke Kornet.
Boston’s third-string center played nearly the entire second half and delivered the most important performance of his winding NBA career. He scored 10 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked a career-high seven shots to help lift the Celtics to a 127-102 win over the New York Knicks in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“He was great, both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said. “Did a great job protecting the rim. Did a great job defending without fouling. Did a great job on both ends of the floor. I just thought his presence was good, especially on the rebounding. He had nine rebounds, two offensive ones. He made some big-time plays for us.”
Five of Kornet’s blocks came during one six-minute stretch in the third quarter, during which Boston broke what had been a tight game — the teams were tied 59-59 at halftime — wide open. He played the entire third quarter, sat the first 2:18 of the fourth, then reentered after Horford was called for his fifth foul. Mazzulla rolled with Kornet the rest of the way, keeping him on the floor until Boston pulled its regulars with 2:34 remaining.
During that final shift, Kornet notched yet another block — this one on a Josh Hart 3-point attempt — and threw down a reverse alley-oop dunk off a lob from Jaylen Brown. His seven blocks were tied for the second-most in any playoff game in the last decade, trailing only ex-Celtic Robert Williams III, who swatted nine in a 2021 first-round loss to Brooklyn.
“Luke was huge tonight, defensively and offensively,” Brown said. “He was stellar. That’s the type of performance we need in the playoffs. Defensively, getting stops, making plays, big finishes. He got the backwards lob. Luke was great tonight.”
Derrick White, who led all scorers with 34 points and added three blocks, called Kornet’s outing “unbelievable.”
“He came in and just seemed to always be in the right position,” White said. “Seven blocks is crazy. He was unbelievable tonight and really stepped up when we needed him. He’s had a great season and was big-time for us tonight.”
With Jayson Tatum’s season-ending ruptured Achilles leaving a permanent hole in Boston’s starting lineup, Mazzulla could look to plug in Kornet for Game 6 on Friday at Madison Square Garden. A loss in Game 6 or a potential Game 7 back in Boston next Monday would end the Celtics’ season.
“Whatever Coach asks me to do, I’m just there to do it,” said Kornet, who began his NBA career with the Knicks in 2017. “Whether I’m starting or coming off the bench, not playing at all, that kind of comes with the responsibility that that is, and you have to do your best job with whatever position that you’re put in. And that’s what we’re always trying to do as a team.”
