Celtics' shot-making, defense come alive in the Knick of Time

Boston avoids playoff elimination with a strong scoring performance and stout defense, led by Luke Kornet's career-high seven blocked shots.

Closing out teams is never easy. Josh Hart, who took an inadvertent elbow to the face from Boston’s Luke Kornet, knows this all too well. (Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)

BOSTON— The longer a contentious playoff series like the one between Boston and New York lasts, it becomes a matter of when, not if the brewing bad blood between the two spills over into the game.

That’s literally what happened in the first half of Game 5 when New York’s Josh Hart caught an inadvertent elbow from Boston’s Luke Kornet, leading to a bloodied Hart.

Hart would shoot a couple of free throws and leave the game momentarily, only to return quickly.

That’s how it has been for the Knicks throughout this series.

And the Celtics?