The Celtics are poised to have the most expensive payroll and tax bill in the history of the NBA thanks to the punitive new rules of the league's collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which was created in part to make life difficult for ball clubs like Boston with very stacked (and expensive) rosters.

Kornett was the presence inside the Celtics have needed Kristaps Porzingis to be this series. Jaylen Brown also had 26 points, 12 assists.

For the second game in a row, White had the hot hand in the first quarter, draining his first four 3-point attempts.

Karl-Anthony Towns was 1-for-3 from three in Wednesday's loss, but if the Knicks want to close out the Celtics, they need to get more out of their big man.

Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks had the chance to put away the rival Boston Celtics and move on to the Eastern Conference Finals, but fell short in a physical contest that ended with Brunson on the bench.

The Celtics were clicking on all cylinders, with Derrick White leading the way. The role player, who has become much more than just that in recent years, finished with 34 points, shooting 7-of-13 from deep in the win.

The first quarter of Game 5 between the Knicks and Celtics included some blood. As Knicks forward Josh Hart went to the basket for a layup, he took an elbow to the face from Celtics center Luke Kornet.