In the home locker room about 90 minutes before tipoff on Wednesday, the Celtics’ black jerseys with green lettering, all pressed and pristine, hung neatly in the locker of each player. And in the right corner, at Jayson Tatum’s stall, the superstar forward’s No. 0 rested on a hanger, too.

The Boston Celtics should have folded like a wet cardboard box. But they did not, and instead put together one of their best games in recent memory.

The New York Knicks enter the Game 5 matchup of the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 3-1 lead over the Boston Celtics.