Is that Lukembe Mutumbo?
Is that Lukembe Mutumbo?Barry Chin/Globe Staff
This story first appeared in Garden Party, a daily-ish playoffs newsletter from Boston Globe Sports.Click here to join the fun.
Hello 👋 Welcome back to Garden Party, a newsletter that’s not getting ahead of itself
So, the real question tonight is whether the Celtics’ Game 5 formula is replicable.
Can they shoot 45 percent from 3-point range again? Will six guys score in double figures? Can Jaylen and Derrick continue as the finest combination of Brown and White since humanity figured out how to perfectly toast a marshmallow? CanvLuke Kornet revive his finest Kareem Abdul-Jabbar impression (Lukembe Mutumbo? Lukeem Olajuwon? I’m still workshopping the nicknames here) at Madison Square Garden?
Perhaps they don’t have to be, seeing as there was a 25-point margin of error in that Game 5 win and Boston certainly doesn’t need to win by 25 to stay alive. A single point will do.
The Game 5 win was electric, emotional, and required the very best of the remaining Celtics as a team. With 48 hours to regather, can they summon enough energy and emotion to go again?
“Four hours ago, we had to win one game,” Mazzulla said after Game 5. “Now, we just have to win one game.”
One at a time. Let’s get into it.
About last night and what’s on deck
The Nuggets love a Game 7, huh?
Jamal Murray scored 25 points in Denver's win.
Jamal Murray scored 25 points in Denver's win.David Zalubowski/Associated Press
Here’s what went down Thursday night and what to know about Friday.
🏀 The Nuggets beat the Thunder to force a decisive Game 7 out West, thanks in large part to 29 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists from Nikola Jokic and another 25 points from Jamal Murray.
🏒 The Jets aren’t going down easy. Winnipeg scored four goals and blanked the Stars on Thursday in Canada. Winnipeg can advance with a win in Dallas on Saturday.
🏒Andrei Svechnikov broke a late tieto help the Hurricanes eliminate the Capitals in five games.
🏒 Brad Marchand and the Panthers (still feels weird!) can eliminate the Maple Leafs in Game 6 on Friday (8 p.m., TNT) down in Florida. This series is also how I found out Brandon Carlo plays for Toronto!
**🗓️ Up next:**The Celtics will once again look to avoid elimination as they head to Madison Square Garden for Game 6 against the Knicks (8 p.m., ESPN). Here’s your preview.
In the know
Abby Chin on the best of her broadcast job
Shout out to Abby Chin.
Shout out to Abby Chin.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
NBC Sports Boston isn’t handling the broadcasts for this series, but veteran Celtics sideline reporter Abby Chin is still busy as ever.
We caught up with her before Game 2.
Emma: What’s the most memorable Celtics game you’ve covered in your career?
**Abby:**It’s got to be the championship game, Game 5 last year against the Mavericks. I got to go in the locker room afterwards for the champagne shower. I think I might have been the only one who was happy that they lost Game 4, because that was a tight locker room [in Dallas], and we wouldn’t have been able to do it in one room. So that was amazing. It’s also just amazing to have been along for the entire run.
My first season was Brad Stevens’s first season, and so to see all of the different iterations of the team and what it’s gone through, and then to see these guys reach the goal that they have worked so hard for, was incredible.
Emma: Who’s the most interesting Celtic to interview?
Abby: All time is Marcus Smart. I will stand for Marcus Smart forever. He was just so genuine, authentic, wore his heart on his sleeve, and was so fun to talk to, and was very gracious with his time.
On the current team I’m going with Kristaps Porzingis. He’s been fantastic, and he’s so funny and can speak so many different languages, so you never know what you’re gonna get with KP.
Emma: Being a woman in a male-dominated career comes with many challenges,as you told me in a recent interview, but what do you love about being in this position?
Abby: I love everything about it. I don’t know anything else. I’ve worked in sports and in sports broadcasting my entire life. …
I feel like one of my strengths is a different perspective, and so I look at things differently. I’m not Brian Scalabrine, looking at the Xs and Os and trying to talk about how you did on that screen or how you’re getting better positioning on rebounds. But I’m looking at more of competition and the mental side of it, and personalities, and how they all fit — the chemistry of the team and those kind of things. So I feel like it gives me something unique to talk about every time. It’s something that I take pride in, having a different perspective than others.
For the group chat
The Joe Mazzulla Quote of the Week
Bad week for Max Strus (right) and Cleveland.
Bad week for Max Strus (right) and Cleveland.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
Congratulations to Max Strus, a first-time winner of the Joe Mazzulla Quote of the Week.
I also need to apologize for my colleague Emma Healy and the pro-Ohio propaganda that was spread in this newsletter earlier in the week. From here on out, it will only be slander of the city of Cleveland on my watch.
Anyway, the Cavaliers wrapped up their finest 2015 Atlanta Hawks impression (elite regular season team that absolutely nobody believed could get it done in the playoffs), actually getting eliminated a round earlier than that Hawks team in getting steamrolled by the Pacers.
Ahead of a do-or-die Game 5, Strus reportedly sent his teammates the following text message:
“If you don’t believe, then don’t show up for work.”
Strus finished the game with 0 points on 0 for 9 shooting from the field. Seems like someone didn’t show up for work!
Go deeper
Three stories you shouldn’t miss
**👏 Nice job, guys:**Maybe it all ends Friday night,Chad Finn writes. Or maybe the Celtics have another win in them. Maybe another two.However way you shake it, you must applaud the effort.
😷 KP concern: Kristaps Porzingis has a lengthy history of missing time in the playoffs, but nothing has compared to this illness he hasn’t been able to shake.Khari Thompson dives into KP’s struggles.
🏀 Let’s go, girls! The WNBA is (finally) back! The 2025 season tips off Friday night with Paige Bueckers making her Dallas debut against the Lynx, who fell just short of a title last year.Julian Benbow has what you need to know about all the changes in the league this offseason.
Emma Healy can be reached at emma.healy@globe.com or on X @ByEmmaHealy. Amin Touri can be reached at amin.touri@globe.com.