The Celtics force a Game 6 in Madison Square Garden after beating the Knicks 127-102 during Game 5 in Boston's TD Garden. Despite losing Tatum for the remainder of the season, the Celtics managed to win, even after benching their starting center, Kristaps Porzingis, for most of the game.
Any NBA fan would anticipate a highly physical matchup between two of the most followed teams in the league. And both teams delivered on that expectation from the onset of the game. Late in the first quarter of the game, Luke Kornet inadvertently elbowed Josh Hart in the face while trying to block his shot.
The crowd was stunned to near silence as Hart started bleeding from his eye after this incident. While it was a risk that comes with any contact sport, this moment arguably gave Hart one of the most iconic photos of his career.
Even fans online couldn't believe what they saw happened to the Knicks' star.
"The amount of blood scared me a bit ngl", said a Knicks fan on X.
"It's the Playoffs. Shake it off," said another fan, referring to the grueling physicality that is expected in the Playoffs.
"Bro looking like Isaiah Stewart", said an NBA fan recalling the incident where the Pistons player charged at LeBron James following a bloody eye.
"Kornet should have been ejected. No place for this in basketball," said a furious Knicks fan during the game. While there was no hostile intent in the elbow hit to the face, a flagrant 1 was warranted since the contact was on the face of the player. However, the referees ruled it a common foul and awarded free throws to the Knicks. Despite being battered and bloodied, Hart nailed both the shots.
"Bro that looks like WWE", said a fan. Another fan who resonated with his sentiment also said , "Looks like a UFC fight".
Key Takeaways For The Knicks From This Game 5 Loss
Josh Hart got bandaged and returned to the game in the next play, showing his grit and determination to deliver for the Knicks. However, the Knicks failed to close this one out and now have a chance to do that at home in Madison Square Garden. Here are some key takeaways from this game for the Knicks:
1. Get Karl-Anthony Towns more shots from deep: Karl-Anthony Towns is a self-proclaimed best-shooting big man in the NBA. However, he has been struggling from beyond the arc in this series against the Celtics. He is only 2 of 13 from beyond the arc in five games played in this series. For a player who averaged 4.7 shots from deep throughout the regular season at a 42% efficiency, getting only 13 shots up in five games is appalling.
2. Let OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges focus on defence: While these two players are terrific defenders, they have struggled to produce significantly on the offensive end of the floor. Anunoby made only 1 of his 12 shots, while Bridges went 4 of 14. On a night where the Celtics benched their starting center for Kornet's defense on Towns, Anunoby, and Bridges failed to step up and help Brunson on the offensive end of the floor while moving their focus away from what they are good at, defense. They should focus on only taking open looks and passing the ball to Brunson or Towns once they realize that their shots aren't falling.
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