The Oregon native went off for 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal off the bench in a critical game for Boston.

Jayson Tatum had just been carried off the court with a season-ending injury minutes before the Celtics were pushed to the brink of elimination when they played at Madison Square Garden earlier this week.

Madison Square Garden will be especially raucous with its New York Knicks vying to reach the penultimate playoff round — something they haven’t done since 2000. Standing in their way are the archrival and defending champion Boston Celtics, looking galvanized after Wednesday’s Game 5 win.