The Celtics played their best game of the series on Wednesday night after receiving a message from a hobbled Jayson Tatum.

In a film session between Games 4 and 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series, as the Celtics prepared for their first game against the New York Knicks without Jayson Tatum, veterans Jaylen Brown and Al Horford challenged the remaining members of the team to rally for their injured superstar.

Speaking ahead of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Joe Mazzulla mapped out the Celtics' mindset after Jayson Tatum's injury.

The Knicks couldn't finish off the Celtics in Game 5 on Wednesday, with Boston staving off elimination despite being without superstar Jayson Tatum.

Following the New York Knicks 127-102 loss to the Boston Celtics Wednesday night, Brunson referred that the Celtics are a "well-oiled machine" even without star forward Jayson Tatum in the lineup.

According to Marc Spears, Jayson Tatum's father said that his son is looking at an eight to nine-month recovery from a ruptured Achilles.

The Boston Celtics will still be coming to terms with the fact that Jayson Tatum will be out of the rotation for the foreseeable future. The All-NBA forward suffered a torn Achilles tendon due to a non-contact injury on May 12. Tatum has already undergone surgery and is staring at a long road to recovery.

Rutgers star Ace Bailey models his offensive game after a trio of standout NBA scorers. At the NBA draft combine, Bailey cited the Philadelphia 76ers' Paul George and Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum as inspirations for their shot creation. He also loves the mid-range ability of Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant: