How Jaylen and Horford rallied Celtics' locker room after Tatum's injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

BOSTON — Jayson Tatum’s injury was absolutely devastating for the Celtics, and in the moment, it showed.

After Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon in Monday’s Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks, the mood around the Celtics was understandably somber. Boston had just lost its franchise cornerstone and gone down 3-1 to the Knicks in their second-round series, seemingly ending the team’s quest to repeat while altering the trajectory of a squad that aimed to win multiple championships.

But the Celtics still had a game to play Wednesday night. So on Tuesday, with a do-or-die Game 5 looming the following night at TD Garden, veterans Jaylen Brown and Al Horford decided to address the team to help shift the mindset.

“JB and Al talked to us, and they did a great job of really just understanding the situation,” Celtics big man Luke Kornet told reporters after Boston’s Game 5 rout of the Knicks. “Understanding that we have a game to play, and to go out and represent ourselves well and play hard — I feel like those two led the way in that.”

Kornet noted that Brown and Horford both acknowledged the harsh reality of Tatum’s injury — which could keep him out most if not all of the 2025-26 season — but urged their teammates not to give up the fight.

“I feel like they’re very aware of the situation, so there’s definitely a part of expressing that, and all of us kind of recognizing that and being in that,” Kornet added. “But at the same time, we do have an opportunity to move forward. We’ve just got to take it one game at a time, and the goal for today was just to make it back to New York.”

The Celtics succeeded in that goal, with Brown in particular leading the charge. The Celtics star delivered one of his best all-around performances of the season, tallying 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting (3-of-5 from 3-point range) along with eight rebounds and a playoff career-high 12 assists. Brown also played excellent defense on Knicks star Jalen Brunson, who fouled out early in the fourth quarter.

“Just come out and play,” Brown said of the message he and Horford delivered to the team. “Obviously, the air kind of left the room after hearing the news with JT. So, we didn’t want to go out like that.

“We didn’t want to make no excuses. We didn’t want to come out and give up or just turn the season in like what everybody else probably would expect. So we just said to the guys, said to each other, let’s come out, keep an open mind. Just come out and play basketball.

“Be ready to go and guard your ass off and take it from there.”

Brown has long embraced a leadership role on this team, even with Tatum in the fold. But the last two days presented an opportunity for the nine-year veteran to step up even further in that department, and he rose to the challenge with both his words and his actions.

“We want to stay the course throughout the game, but when those two guys are at the front of it and lead you into it, it’s easy to just follow course and do the best you can,” Kornet added.

The Celtics still trail the Knicks 3-2 and will need to win Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on Friday to keep their season alive. But for one game at least, Brown and his teammates showed they still have some fight in them.

Report: Kuminga, Warriors will explore sign-and-trade scenarios originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

There is a possibility that Jonathan Kuminga has played his final game with the Warriors.

Selected seventh overall by Golden State in the 2021 NBA Draft, the first of the Warriors’ two lottery picks that year, along with guard Moses Moody (No. 14 overall), Kuminga’s tenure with Golden State has been anything but smooth.

And as his fourth NBA season comes to a close with the Warriors’ 121-110 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday at Target Center, it appears increasingly likely the 22-year-old could play elsewhere next season.

Kuminga, who reportedly is expected to have his $7.9 million qualifying offer extended by the Warriors this offseason, making him a restricted free agent in July, will explore sign-and-trade scenarios with Golden State, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson reported Thursday, citing league sources.

“Both sides are expected to explore sign-and-trade scenarios, those sources said, which would open up the market and theoretically give Kuminga the contract and fresh start he’d desire while bringing the Warriors back rotation players of immediate value,” Slater and Thompson wrote. “The Warriors’ decision-makers believe they need more positional size across the board — center and otherwise.”

However, Slater and Thompson also reported, citing league sources, that a reunion between Kuminga and the Warriors still is on the table.

The Athletic spoke with Warriors CEO Joe Lacob immediately after Golden State’s season-ending loss on Wednesday, and the long-time Kuminga proponent reaffirmed his support for the young forward.

“I was listening to the guys behind me tonight give running commentary — T-Wolves fans,” Lacob told The Athletic. “(Kuminga)’s the guy they talked about all night long. He’s the only guy that could really guard (Anthony Edwards) out there. Did a pretty damn good job. He had a tough situation with the DNPs from the last series, and to bounce back from that, I give him a lot of credit. I’m a big fan of his.”

Will Lacob’s advocacy play a role in Golden State potentially signing Kuminga to a lucrative long-term contract this summer, or will the Warriors leverage his value to land players who are better fits for coach Steve Kerr’s rotations?

We will find out in the coming months.

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Report: Warriors unlikely to pursue Giannis trade after playoff exit originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Even in the wake of their 2025 NBA playoffs exit, it does not appear the Warriors are preparing to make an Earth-shattering move this offseason.

Particularly for the biggest name that could be available on the trade market this summer: Milwaukee Bucks superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Hours after Golden State’s 121-110 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday at Target Center, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson reported, citing league sources, that the Warriors currently are not expected to be major players in the potential market for Antetokounmpo, if he were to become available.

“There are no early indications that the Warriors will be at the front of the line of the yet-to-materialize Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, league sources said,” Slater and Thompson wrote. “As they enter the summer, team sources said, the internal plan and conversation is about how to best reform the role players around the [Steph] Curry and [Jimmy] Butler duo, not chase another star.”

Of course, this is the NBA, and as we have learned time and time again, it’s that you never truly can rule out anything.

As Slater and Thompson alluded to, the Giannis sweepstakes have yet to materialize, as the two-time NBA MVP reportedly is “open-minded” to playing elsewhere next season, but has not requested a trade, nor have the Bucks indicated any desire to move him.

If Antetokounmpo were to become available this summer, there is no doubt the Warriors, at the very least, would have some level of interest in acquiring the nine-time All-Star, who reportedly has been Golden State CEO Joe Lacob’s “dream target” over the years.

However, even if “Greek Freak” does hit the trade market, it does not appear the Warriors are a likely landing spot.

For now …

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The Boston Celtics kept themselves in the NBA play-offs with a win against the New York Knicks as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Golden State Warriors to reach the Western Conference final.

The Celtics, the reigning NBA champions, were 3-1 down in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final and missing star player Jayson Tatum, who went off injured in game four and has had surgery on a ruptured Achilles.

However, they earned a convincing 127-102 win at TD Garden thanks to Derrick White's 34 points, and 26 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds from Jaylen Brown.

Game five will take place in New York on Friday at 20:00 local time (Saturday 01:00 BST).

"We made winning plays on both ends of the floor," said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. "They made enough plays to win - gave us another chance to play."

The Timberwolves beat the Warriors 121-110 to secure a 4-1 Western Conference semi-final play-off series win.

• NBA play-offs - route to the final

Julius Randle scored 29 points and Anthony Edwards contributed 22 points and 12 assists for the Timberwolves at Target Center in Minneapolis.

The Timberwolves will play the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference final, with the former leading their series 3-2.

"It's great," said Randle. "We've had a season full of adversity. Coach (Chris Finch) said at the end of the regular season that we didn't do anything as far as trades or firing coaches. We just stuck together and we got through it together.

"I'm super proud of our team, everybody that stepped up in some type of way this year. We've got to keep going."

The Warriors did not won a game since losing star player Stephen Curry to a hamstring injury in game one.

"Injuries are part of the play-offs," said coach Steve Kerr. "I learned a long time ago that the play-offs are really about health and then just guys stepping up and making some big shots, big plays in key games. That's what decides every series.

"We've been on both ends of that. There's no sense in dwelling on it, and I don't want to take anything away from what Minnesota just accomplished."

BOSTON – How can the Knicks get more out of Karl-Anthony Towns?

There are several answers to that question. Towns needs to limit his fouls. He was in foul trouble yet again in Game 5 on Wednesday.

Towns and the Knicks can attack Jrue Holiday more effectively when he guards Towns. Towns can also do more when the Celtics send a second defender at him.

But Towns can’t create more three-point shots for himself. The Knicks need to adjust their approach if they want to get more perimeter shots for Towns. He’s made just two three-pointers in this series. He was 1-for-3 from the perimeter in Game 5.

Afterward, Josh Hart was asked what the Knicks can do to create more perimeter looks for Towns.

“I think we can run actions that get him open more. We’re running a lot of ball-screen actions. And they’re in a drop, we can figure out ways to get him going, whether it’s transition or flares or quick screens. Ball screens into wides. We have to figure out ways to help him,” he said late Wednesday night. “Obviously, he’s a hell of a shooter. But if he was a guard, we’d be in a different situation, because he’d have the ball in his hands and be able to create [for himself]. We’ve got to help him get in positions for that. And I think from the top down, we’re not doing that.”

The Celtics used Holiday to defend Towns for long stretches of Game 5. That matchup, in theory, should allow Towns the opportunity to score inside. But Boston was also sending a second defender at Towns. The Knicks couldn’t take advantage often enough on Wednesday. They shot 35 percent from the field.

Afterward, Jalen Brunson was asked about Towns’ three-point shooting in the series.

"I think as a group we need to trust each other. I need to trust everyone out there and knowing who to attack and when to set the table. I think the biggest part of that is knowing how they are defending [Towns]," the guard said. "If they are going to put a smaller guy on him, then [we can feed him in] the post. They haven’t put a bigger guy on him. We need to attack accordingly, and him being aggressive gives us a big advantage.”

Towns said after Game 5 that his perimeter opportunities -- or lack thereof -- are by design.

“I haven’t really been out there really. Haven’t had the chance to shoot. We’ve just been trying to do our game plan and I’m just trying to execute at the highest level,” Towns said. “So I’m trying to do most of my damage inside and do whatever my team asks of me.”

The Knicks have found ways to get Towns more involved in the offense in the past. In the Detroit series, Towns got going in Game 3 and Game 4 after a quiet Game 2. In those games, the Knicks created early opportunities for Towns in the post or on the perimeter.

Maybe they make a similar adjustment in Game 6? The Knicks will probably need more from Towns on Friday night if they want to close out Boston.

DEFENSE RESTS

The Knicks' transition defense was a big issue on Wednesday. New York gave up several open threes due to poor communication or poor effort in transition. Boston finished 22-for-49 from beyond the arc.

“Pretty much everybody is back [on defense in transition] but we're not communicating,” Mikal Bridges said. “We’re not taking our man. We just got to do a better job of communicating and we gave them confidence.”

Tom Thibodeau noted that the Knicks were slow in getting back on defense at times.

“We’ve got to be tougher with our closeouts and taking air space away, we’ve got to be better with our communication,” Thibodeau said. “…I think it’s two-fold: the commitment to sprint back and then communicate to make sure that we understand what’s going on. You can't have any personal dilemmas of if you’re missing a shot or if it’s not going well for you offensively, that you're jogging back. You’ve got to sprint back, you’ve got to communicate. And we’ve got to be matched up. If one guy is slow, you’re gonna give them an open shot. You can’t do that against this team.”

CENTER OF ATTENTION

Joe Mazzulla went with Luke Kornet and Al Horford as his centers in the second half on Wednesday. He said Kristaps Porzingis was having trouble with his lingering illness. Kornet, the ex-Knick, was fantastic. He had five blocks in the third quarter and seven overall. It will be interesting to see how Mazzulla approaches the center position on Friday night. Porzingis is clearly not himself. In Boston earlier in the series, he received an IV during the game in an effort to get back on the floor.

When the Knicks took a commanding 3-1 series lead, they knew it wouldn't be easy to get that clinching win, especially against the defending champion Boston Celtics.

But when perennial All-Star Jayson Tatum was lost for the rest of the postseason with an Achilles tear, many outside the Knicks locker room felt the series was in the bag, but Game 5 showed exactly why it's going to be hard to get win No. 4 even with Tatum not in the lineup.

Six Celtics scored in double figures, and the NBA Finals MVP from last year, Jaylen Brown, had his best game of the series to lead Boston in their dominant 127-102 win on Wednesday night.

"They're defending champions, so obviously losing Tatum is a big blow for their team but we know they're more than capable of beating anyone on any night," Karl-Anthony Towns said. "We just didn’t do enough to win tonight."

The Celtics won thanks to two factors. First, there is their balanced offense.

Derrick White led all scorers with 34 points while hitting seven threes. Brown posted a near triple-double of 26 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists while starters Jrue Holiday and Al Horford scored in double figures. They also got big points from Payton Pritchard (17) and Luke Kornet (10) off the bench.

They shot 52 percent (45 percent from three) while winning the fastbreak and points-off-turnover battles. Those numbers trickled up at the end of the second quarter, but jumped in a "terrible" third quarter that saw defensive lapses left and right from the Knicks.

"They're the defending champs. Jayson Tatum went down, you thought they were just going to lay down? Nah," Josh Hart said. "You knew they were going to come out swinging. They came out with extreme confidence like they do every game. They came out with aggression. We didn’t do enough in the first half to end the half right and the third quarter was a failure."

And then there was the defense.

Boston forced the Knicks into 10 turnovers and 36 percent shooting for the game. But while a lot of the attention goes to the prolific three-point shooting up and down the Celtics' bench, New York recognizes how Boston's defense feeds into their offense, and they played into their hands on Wednesday night.

"They have a lot of shooting on the floor, that’s going to remain the same," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "The thing about their team is they are a great defensive team as well. We can’t be slow getting back and you can’t give open shots to them. We have to be closer with our closeouts and be better with our communication."

Jalen Brunson was asked after Game 3's rout if the fact that they were up 2-0 going into that game last Saturday affected the team's mentality and energy. The All-Star guard was candid and said he believed it subconsciously did. He was asked a similar question after Game 5's loss and if the team's energy was affected by the fact Tatum wasn't playing.

Brunson said no and put the onus on his team to find a way to beat the Celtics no matter what.

"Yes, they're missing a big piece but they're a team, a well-oiled machine, that has been in situations where they've played without him and they've played well," Brunson said. "We need to understand that. Trust the gameplan and play accordingly. It's that simple."

After Wednesday's win, the Celtics are 10-2 without Tatum this season. Two of those wins have come in the postseason, so this group can win without their superstar and the basketball world is on notice.

"It's easy to kind of write things off. Obviously unfortunate what happened to JT, but we've still got basketball to be played," Brown said after the game. "I believe in this group. Don't count us out just yet."