Over the course of the season, the [Celtics](https://www.celticsblog.com) bench—around Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Luke Kornet—developed great synergy through a basketball play called the Spain pick-and-roll. This play is pretty simple: you have a classic pick-and-roll, plus a back screen behind the first screener.
Here is a first example where it worked well to create an open shot in the corner. Derrick White has the ball, and Kornet sets a great screen before rolling to the basket. Karl-Anthony Towns, who was guarding Kornet, gets stuck in Pritchard’s screen, and Jalen Brunson doesn’t switch, which gives Kornet a freeway to the paint.
The [Knicks](https://www.postingandtoasting.com) are a good read-and-react defense, so OG Anunoby helps from the weak side and leaves Jaylen Brown open. Kornet, a great passing big man, recognizes the Knicks’ defensive rotation and sends the ball to JB, who has all the time in the world to convert.
This play works really well for various reasons. Luke Kornet’s ability to screen and roll is elite among seven-footers. Alongside that, there’s Pritchard’s shooting gravity, so there needs to be a defender attached to him the whole time. Also, the Celtics’ different ball-handlers (White, Brown, Jrue Holiday) can pass and score from the pick-and-roll, so there is a lot of gravity on the ball too.
In another example in the fourth quarter, Kornet rolls faster to the rim, and Josh Hart is too far behind when he needs to rotate, which gives us a beautiful alley-oop.
Great play-calling from Joe Mazzulla to maximize the available players.
**#2 - Survived the first with shooting**
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During the first 24 minutes of the game, the Celtics didn’t play at their best, but they were able to make the shots they missed during the first two games of the series at the TD Garden—despite more turnovers, more fouls, and fewer rebounds than the New York Knicks. Thanks to being burning hot from three, the Celtics survived the first half, and it was a tie game at the break.
From there, it was either going to turn bad because shots would stop falling—or the Celtics would fix the rebounding, start taking care of the ball, and defend without fouling.
**#3 - A third quarter to remember**
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There are moments in life when you can feel the energy shifting—last night’s third quarter was one of them. After a mixed first half, Joe Mazzulla made adjustments. Post-game, when talking about those changes, he mentioned: taking away the offensive rebounds, turning possessions into shots, and starting Luke Kornet—and it changed everything.
With Kornet as a defensive safety, the Knicks made only four field goals out of 20 attempts and scored just 17 points in 12 minutes. The energy was amazing, and the Celtics were applying Mazzulla’s directives. They took away the offensive boards—only four offensive rebounds for the Knicks out of 20 misses. They turned possessions into shots with only one turnover.
Thanks to all the defensive stops, the Celtics were able to push the pace, and the Knicks couldn’t keep up. This play below sums it all up. Kornet blocks and saves the ball before it goes out. Then, the Celtics move fast and get in motion. Kornet is already there to set a screen and roll to the rim.
But, if we believe Joe Mazzulla’s words, the game-changer came earlier in the third quarter.
**#4 - Jaylen Brown channeling his inner Marcus Smart**
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The game was close, but things were about to change. Jaylen Brown is defending Jalen Brunson, and this is an ongoing challenge—especially when the guard starts to move off-ball. Following a screen, Brunson receives the ball on the wing, but Brown isn’t far. He goes at the ball, steals it from Brunson, and jumps—like Marcus Smart would have—to save the ball in front of the bench.
Over the course of the game, Brown led by example on both ends of the floor. Offensively, he didn’t force too many shots and recognized when it was time to drive. In the play below, for example, he first goes for a pull-up but fakes it into a drive against Mitchell Robinson. When asked about it later, he mentioned that he recognized Robinson being on him meant nobody was protecting the rim, so he went for it and gave a nice assist to Jrue Holiday.
There was a lot of pressure on his shoulders before Game 5. Safe to say, he delivered.
**#5 - Jrue Holiday swiss-knife impact**
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Speaking of Jrue Holiday—his presence is one of the underrated factors in this Celtics victory. First, defensively, his low center of gravity and strong frame made it tough for Karl-Anthony Towns. His defensive flexibility unlocked Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, or Luke Kornet for rim protection because they could focus on roaming in the paint while he matched up with the Knicks’ center.
On offense, Jrue Holiday was able to bully Jalen Brunson and force him to choose between giving up a layup or fouling.
His ability to drive, post up, and shoot from three—even in small volume—is key for the Celtics if they want to move on without Jayson Tatum. He brings offensive tools that no other Celtic does. Plus, he is often defended by the weakest link—which makes his skillset even more impactful.
Jrue Holiday has had a bigger role before in his career—now’s the time to find that offensive juice again to force a Game 7.
**#6 - White doing it for JT**
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The Celtics lost their scoring leader, so Derrick White took over straight from the jump. He scored one-third of the Celtics’ points in the first half and kept the team in the game with a lot of shot-making.
In the second half, he used his craftiness and basketball IQ to draw nine free throws and made sure Brunson was out of this game as soon as possible. Two halves, two different offensive approaches, and one big impact for the Celtics.
Joe Mazzulla did a great job of making him move off-ball too. Here, a smart twirl stagger-action with two screen away from the ball. White use the first screen and dive to the rim so Brown can find him open in the paint. Great play.
Later in the press conference, he was asked about playing without his friend, Tatum. He was definitely touched by his absence—but like every other Celtic, he had a game to win—and another one coming right up tomorrow.
**#7 - Sam Hauser return**
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Sam Hauser’s return was one of the keys to keeping the offensive flow and spacing for the Celtics last night. Joe Mazzulla was able to call some of the usual plays for him and get the offense in motion. One of these plays is the empty-side pick-and-roll with Jrue Holiday.
They were already part of last year’s playbook, especially against the Mavericks and the Indiana Pacers. In the last two rounds last season, the Celtics used these actions and were deadly when the defense’s low-man help wasn’t set.
Last night, they were able to use this play again to punish the Knicks’ defense and attack in space.
Sam Hauser’s ghost screens were also back. His ability to set a fake screen and keep running while pivoting to receive the ball is hard to defend. The Celtics are now used to his movement, and when he is found in the right momentum—that’s cash money for Sam.
Without Jayson Tatum’s gravity as a shooter, Sam Hauser being healthy is crucial to keep spacing the floor. The Knicks’ length is really hard to deal with, and an elite shooter like Sam is one of the weapons to address that kind of defensive dilemma.
**#8 - Porzingis minutes**
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“He couldn’t breathe”—that’s what Joe Mazzulla said about why Kristaps Porzingis didn’t start the second half.
That’s what it took for the Celtics’ head coach to take Porzingis out of the game—while it was obvious to the thousands in TD Garden that he had no reason to be on the court. The Celtics couldn’t get anything from him on offense, despite forcing things to get him going.
On defense, the rim protection was still there for a moment, but it didn’t matter because the Celtics couldn’t grab a rebound with him on the floor. The time has come for the Latvian big man to call it a season—and let Kornet take the lead.
**#9 - Luke the great**
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Luke Kornet started the second half for the Celtics—and he never looked back. He was the hidden weapon against the Knicks’ offense that Kristaps Porzingis was supposed to be. As the Knicks always have a non-shooting threat on the court, the Celtics can use Kornet the same way they used Robert Williams III—as a safety.
Despite sometimes looking heavy on his feet, Luke Kornet is good at navigating defense for a seven-footer. He can follow his matchup and always make sure the rim is protected. Of course, the numbers are really impressive—six blocks in the second half alone—but there was nothing new about what Kornet did on the floor. He played his game on both sides of the court.
He set screens, rolled to the rim, passed from the short roll, dunked when he was open, protected the rebound, and took away rim attempts. He’s done that all year long—and should have been doing that for more minutes in the Playoffs. He played 20 minutes in the second half last night—let’s hope for 40 minutes of Kornet in Game 6.
**#10 - Force Brunson and Towns to defend and they foul**
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The Knicks’ offensive duo is hard to stop—but they can be attacked. The Celtics know the Knicks will switch—so they hunt and make them move. The pull-ups won’t draw fouls, but the drives and the post-ups will.
The Celtics were able to force 10 fouls from the duo because, once they switched, they had to use their bodies to defend. Yes, pull-ups can work—but making them work on defense will be even better to take them out of the game.
Karl-Anthony Towns’ immaturity and Jalen Brunson’s small frame need to be exposed at every opportunity to force a Game 7 at TD Garden.