5 things to watch for in Game 6 of Celtics-Knicks

The Boston Celtics extended their season by one game by winning Wednesday's Game 5 127-102. They now will once again play a 'do-or-die' match in Game 6 on Friday night from Madison Square Garden, as they look to push the series with the New York Knicks to rubber match Game 7.

With both teams looking at what could be a 'must win' game, here are five things to watch out for in Celtics-Knicks Game 6:

The Celtics, and specifically Joe Mazzulla, showed on Wednesday, that they feel pretty comfortable with their regular starting five, despite potentially having more reliable options on the bench. The conversation post Game 5 about the starting lineup for Boston regarded Kristaps Porziņģis, who is battling some sort of illness and is clearly not at 100 percent health.

Porziņģis ended up playing just 12 minutes in the game, providing just one point, and Mazzulla said after the game he actually, "couldn't breathe, so he was available if absolutely necessary," (via CLNS). The curious part of that decision was that, since Porziņģis is clearly not in shape to make very much of an impact, why let him play at all - let alone start?

So, with both Payton Pritchard and Luke Kornet having very strong Game 5s, it will be interesting to see if the starting lineup changes as all of Game 6. If the trend continues and Porziņģis is again unable to give the team any meaningful contribution, it may be advantageous to simply shut him down and rely on the reserves.

In Game 5, fans had the pleasure of watching an unselfish Celtics team, who had one of their best passing games all playoffs. As a team Boston had 27 assists, which was a staunch difference from their series per-game average of 18.3 from the four games prior.

The leading facilitator for the Celtics was Jaylen Brown who had 12 assists of his own in his double-double performance. Brown did a solid job quarterbacking the offense in the absence of Jayson Tatum, and it seemed, that the ball moved better with Brown as the leader than it had in any of the earlier contests with New York.

In Game 6, the ball movement has to be equivalent to Wednesday's. Without their star, the Celtics will again need a full team effort, and dishing the rock around the court will help get more grade-A looks. As it did on Wednesday, the facilitation will begin with Brown, so watch out for him to have another selfless game to will the series to seven.

The largest surprise of Wednesday's Game 5 was Luke Kornet's standout performance. After only playing about 13 minutes per game in the first four matchups of the series, Kornet had an enhanced role on Wednesday (over 25 minutes on the court) - largely due to Porziņģis being under-the-weather.

With his new found responsibility, Kornet excelled by putting up 10 points (5-for-5 from the floor), nine rebounds, one assist, and a whopping seven blocks - which only highlighted his dominant performance in the defensive end.

As Porziņģis' health and status is in purgatory, the Celtics will need another big to step up again in Game 6. Al Horford is, obviously, the first choice, but he has also, somewhat, underwhelmed in the playoffs, and at age 38, he has little left in the tank to be incredibly reliable. So, that means the burden will likely be placed on Kornet to, again, come out and dominate. Look out for how he is utilized on Friday, and the impact he may, or may, not make.

For the most part, the games in this series have been low-scoring affairs. The Knicks have only exceeded 100 points in two games (four and five). With the Celtics nearly hanging 130 on the Knicks in Game 6, they proved that even without Tatum they can adjust their offense to run up the score board, but the question is: Can the Knicks?

Early on in the series, the Knicks offensive philosophy was to survive the Celtics' initial scoring punch and dig themselves out of whatever deficit they were in during the final stages (e.g. Games 1 & 2's 20-point second-half comebacks). However, that tactic may not bail them out in New York on Friday. Obviously, this is somewhat Celtics dependent, but Games 3 & 6 showed that Boston is poised to hold on to and extend their leads, rather than becoming complacent.

So, the Knicks may look to hold the game close going into the late-third and fourth quarters - where they have been effective - and have a much easier task in crunch time (akin to their Game 4 strategy). Also it's worth noting, that star Jalen Brunson fouled out in Game 5, so that hindered their offense in the fourth. Obviously, they should have a much easier time executed a close out with Brunson on the court.

A consistent trend of the series has been the third quarter often deciding the result of the game.

So, the conclusion is clear, winning the third quarter - especially by a dominant margin - will win Game 6. Expect Boston to put emphasis on turning it on out of the half as they play for their season.

So, with the Celtics playing for their lives, and the Knicks looking to close out the series at home, there is a lot to look forward to in Game 6. But, look out for how these five factors influence to final result at MSG on Friday night.

The Celtics and the Knicks continue the Eastern Conference Semifinals with Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on Friday, May 16, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Be sure to tune into 98.5 The Sports Hub for the broadcast of the game.

Luke Graham is a digital sports content co-op for 98.5 the Sports Hub. He is currently a sophomore at Northeastern University studying communications and media studies. Read all his articles here, and follow him on X @LukeGraham05.