NEW YORK — The Celtics kept their season alive and forced a Game 6 back at Madison Square Garden, meaning they had at least one more road trip in their season. Plus, ahead of the elimination game in New York, Payton Pritchard revealed that they got to see Jayson Tatum at the team hotel for the first time since his injury.
Tatum got surgery earlier this week to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon, which he suffered in the Game 4 loss to the Knicks in New York. Fortunately, he was able to get it repaired the next day as the team expects a full recovery.
“It was really good seeing him,” Pritchard said. “Obviously, he’s out of surgery. It seemed like he was in really good spirits and stuff. Obviously, he’s probably about to be stir crazy for a little while now. But it’s just good when you see your brother, your teammate go through a situation like that. Just want to be there to comfort and anything he needs.”
The Celtics blew out the Knicks in Game 5 on their home court to cut into the series deficit to make it 3-2. While they’ve played without Tatum before in the playoffs, it was the first time the C’s played a game since the devastating injury. Fortunately, the role guys stepped up in what ended up being a comfortable victory.
Pritchard said “we didn’t talk about basketball at all” with Tatum since he was coming off surgery. The guard added they’ll take care of the basketball side as the C’s look to force a Game 7 back in Boston. The Knicks will play with a desperation in Friday’s Game 6, though as they’ll look to close out the series to advance to the East Finals for the first time in 25 years.
The Celtics have showed their grit when it comes to elimination games. While they didn’t face any last year on the way to the 2024 NBA title, the current core knows what it’s like when the playoffs ramp up.
“We don’t want our season to end,” Pritchard said. “I think there’s nothing worse than having to go home and sit at home and not play basketball right now. We’re going to do everything we can to keep that alive.”