Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, left, speaks with Celtics forward Jayson Tatum during the second half of their NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate) AP

Head coach Joe Mazzulla said Wednesday afternoon that Tatum, who is out for the foreseeable future after rupturing his right Achilles at the end of Game 4, sent a message to players and Celtics staffers with the team down 3-1 to the Knicks. When pressed on what Tatum actually said, Mazzulla seemingly bristled.

The Boston Celtics are back after staving off elimination against the New York Knicks in Game 5 of this playoff series.

The New York Knicks beat defending NBA champions Boston Celtics to reach a first Eastern Conference finals in 25 years.

The third quarter of Wednesday’s beatdown, which extended the Knicks’ and Boston Celtics’ second-round series at least another 48 hours, was the capper. Advertisement The Celtics, even without perennial All-NBA first-teamer Jayson Tatum,

The New York Knicks reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years and ended the one-year NBA title reign of the Boston Celtics with astonishing ease, rolling to a 119-81 victory

The New York Knicks thrashed the Boston Celtics 119-81 to send the defending champions crashing out of the NBA playoffs on Friday.New York will head into that best-of-seven series brimming with confidence after an electrifying performance that swept aside a Boston team who had dominated the Knicks in a game five win on Wednesday.

The belief ended with 1:49 remaining in the third quarter of Game 6 on Friday night, when coach Joe Mazzulla pulled his starters with the New York Knicks leading by 41 points. The Knicks went on to a 119-81 victory to win the Eastern Conference semifinal series and ensure that the Celtics' latest title reign would be a brief one.

The Knicks weren’t ready for their prime time moment in Game 5 at TD Garden, unable to end a two-decade drought of reaching the Finals despite facing a Celtics team without injured star Jayson Tatum.