Boston Celtics take New York Knicks to woodshed in Game 5

Jaylen Brown was sensational. He scored 27 points on an economical 9 of 17 from the floor, including 3 of 5 from downtown. Perhaps most impressive was his playmaking, as he led Boston with 12 assists.

Derrick White led all scorers with 34 points, as his early-game three-point shooting remained red hot. White shot 11 threes and connected on 7 of them.

For the Knicks, head coach Tom Thibodeau will most likely point out how the loss dealt much more with self-inflicted wounds than anything the opponent did correctly.

Despite keeping pace with Boston in the first half, a nightmare third quarter allowed the home team to pull away furiously. The Celtics poured in 32 points in that frame but also limited the Knicks to a meager 17.

New York shot a putrid 35.8 percent from the floor in the game. The Knicks finished 12-30 from three-point land, which isn’t terrible (40%), but Boston connected on 22 back-breaking threes (on 49 attempts, 44.9%).

Josh Hart , who turned into a bloody mess after taking a Luke Kornet elbow early in the game, led New York with 24 points.

Jalen Brunson scored just 22 points on 7 of 17 from the floor, but that wasn’t even his most notable headline. With 7:10 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Knicks’ captain fouled out of the game, all but cementing the Celtics’ win.

From an offensive perspective, New York’s performance was as bad as possible, and it’s doubtful that anything can be learned from this one. On the defensive side of the floor, it was clear that the Knicks’ defensive strategy of extending the structure backfired on them due to Boston’s newfound vigor for driving to the hole and making the extra pass.

The other bright spot besides Hart was Mitchell Robinson, who finished a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed an absurd 13 rebounds (6 offensive, a team high) in just 23 minutes.

Leading 3-2, the New York Knicks will turn their attention to Game 6 at Madison Square Garden. They can close out the series on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.