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

The Boston Celtics championship defense is still alive. In the team's first game since losing star forward Jayson Tatum, big nights from Jaylen Brown and Derrick White helped steer the team to a 127-102 victory over the New York Knicks and cut the series deficit to 3-2.