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Overrated, Huh?

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – In the NBA Playoffs, a series doesn’t really start until the road team wins a game. Last night, the NBA Eastern Conference Finals began with a high-scoring and seriously physical overtime game at a sold out Madison Square Garden. Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton scored 31 points and his teammate, Aaron Nesmith, added 30, helping the visiting Pacers rally for a 138-135 overtime victory against the New York Knicks on Wednesday in Game 1 of the series.

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The third-seeded Knicks squandered a 14-point lead in the final 2:39 of the fourth quarter due in large part to Nesmith’s sharp shooting. Nesmith highlighted an 8-for-9 performance from 3-point range by making five treys during the final 3 1/2 minutes of regulation.

Haliburton appeared to win it following a friendly carom off the rim on an apparent 3-pointer at the buzzer, only for replays to show that his toe was on the line. That made it a 2-pointer and forced overtime.

When he thought the game was over, Haliburton made a choke sign in the direction of the Knicks’ bench, reminiscent of former Pacers star Reggie Miller who was at courtside, calling the game for television.

Andrew Nembhard sank a 3-pointer and two layups in OT, the last lay-in giving Indiana a 136-135 lead with 26.7 seconds to play. An attempted pass to Brunson deflected off his fingers and out of bounds, and former Knick Obi Toppin’s dunk extended the advantage to three with 10.9 seconds left.

The Knicks’ Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns misfired on 3-point attempts in the final moments.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Friday night in New York.

Pascal Siakam scored 17 points, Nembhard finished with 15 and Myles Turner added 14 for the fourth-seeded Pacers. Haliburton handed out 11 assists.

Brunson scored 43 points and Towns added 35 to go along with 12 rebounds for the Knicks.

Towns sank 4 of 8 shots from 3-point range, a big improvement after he made just 3 of 19 attempts from beyond the arc during New York’s six-game series victory over the Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals.

Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby each scored 16 points in the loss.

Brunson committed his fifth foul with 10:05 remaining in the fourth quarter and retreated to the bench after T.J. McConnell made a free throw to pull Indiana within 94-92.

New York, however, went on a 14-0 run in Brunson’s absence, with Anunoby draining a 3-pointer and a short jumper to ignite the spurt. The Pacers did themselves no favors by fouling McBride and Towns on 3-point attempts, with the duo combining to make 5 of 6 free throws.

–Field Level Media

Sox Win One for Alex

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – If you blink, you might miss Jarren Duran making his impact on a game. A night after sparking a 3-1, series-opening victory with extra-base hits in each of the first two innings, the left fielder will look to help the Boston Red Sox post an interleague series victory over the visiting New York Mets on Tuesday night.

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Duran’s first-inning leadoff double and a second-inning RBI triple — his sixth triple of the season and 20th since the start of 2024, both figures tied for the major league lead — extended his hitting streak to six games and helped set the Boston offense in motion as he so often does.

“When he starts having games like that, we win a lot of ballgames,” said Red Sox bench coach Ramon Vazquez, who served as interim manager while Alex Cora attended his daughter’s Boston College graduation. “It’s a game-changer for us. It was good to see him go out there being aggressive today.”

Though it has not been officially announced, Boston’s rotation is expected to get a boost with Walker Buehler (4-1, 4.28 ERA) returning from the 15-day injured list to make the Tuesday start. He hasn’t pitched for the Red Sox since April 26 due to bursitis in his right (pitching) shoulder.

Buehler, who tuned up during a three-inning simulated game on Thursday, won his last three starts before the injury and allowed three runs or fewer in four straight.

“It was fine from the moment they took the needle out (after administering an anti-inflammatory shot,” Buehler said before the Red Sox faced the Atlanta Braves on Saturday. “I don’t think if it was late in the year that we would necessarily have done the exact same things. But (it’s) just too early in the year to kind of try and push it.”

Buehler is 1-1 with a 5.00 ERA in five career starts against the Mets, with the most recent coming in 2022.

Buehler will be looking to reverse a recent trend. Over the past five games, Boston’s relievers have allowed just six runs in 19 2/3 innings (2.75 ERA) compared to starters’ 21 runs in 25 innings (7.56 ERA) over the past five games.

Following a Subway Series weekend against the rival New York Yankees, the Mets took their fourth loss in a five-game span on Monday, with Kodai Senga allowing more than two earned runs for the first time in nine starts this season.

A 1-for-8 showing with runners in scoring position did in the Mets.

“We’re gonna have ups and downs,” Mets outfielder Juan Soto said. “We just have to keep our chin up and keep moving forward. It’s a game of failure. Sometimes you’re gonna fail and you just gotta keep moving forward. It doesn’t matter what.”

The top six batters in the New York order had just two combined hits: one from both Soto and Pete Alonso, both off the Green Monster in left field. Soto didn’t run out his fly ball, forcing him to settle for a single, while Alonso was caught trying to stretch his hit into a double.

“If those guys go, we’re gonna go,” said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, who added that he was unhappy about Soto’s lack of hustle.

New York’s scheduled Tuesday starter, Clay Holmes (5-2, 3.14 ERA), is no stranger to facing Boston after closing games for the Yankees over the past three seasons. Holmes is 4-1 with four saves and a 3.54 ERA in 20 career appearances against the Red Sox, but Tuesday will be his first start vs. the Red Sox.

Holmes had earned three consecutive victories before a six-inning Wednesday start in which he allowed four runs on seven hits — including two home runs — against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was his first defeat since his March 27 season debut against the Houston Astros.

–Field Level Media

Slumping Sox Face NY Mets

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Alex Cora won’t manage the Red Sox tonight when they open a three-game series against the visiting New York Mets. Cora will take the night off so he can attend his daughter Camila’s graduation from Boston College. Bench coach Ramon Vazquez will serve as the team’s manager.

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“It’s going to be a very special day, one that I’m not going to miss,” Cora said. “And I will 100 percent miss the game for that. And I’ll do that any given day because it’s going to be a special day for us.”

Boston will enter the series with losses in five of their last six games. The Red Sox have lost 11 of their last 17.

“We’ve got to finish innings, we’ve got to finish at-bats, we’ve got to get better,” Cora said following Sunday’s 10-4 loss to Atlanta. “Does it feel like we’re way off? No, but it’s another loss in the column.”

The Mets have the lowest team ERA in the majors (2.86), and are scheduled to start right-hander Kodai Senga (4-2, 1.02 ERA) Monday. Senga didn’t factor in the decision in his only career appearance against the Red Sox. He allowed three runs (two earned) in 3 1/3 innings in that start, a 5-4 New York road victory on July 21, 2023.

Rookie Hunter Dobbins (2-1, 3.90) is scheduled to start on the mound for the Red Sox. The right-hander has never pitched against the Mets.

New York hasn’t scored more than three runs in any of its last five games and has been limited to nine runs during that five-game stretch. The Mets were held to three hits in Sunday night’s 8-2 loss to the Yankees.

The Mets also made two infield errors in Sunday’s loss, the second of which was a throwing error by Pete Alonso that allowed the Yankees to take a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning. Third baseman Mark Vientos also made an error in the first.

“On and off,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said when asked about his team’s infield defense. “I feel like we’ve gone through stretches where we’ve been pretty sharp, but there’s also been a few games where we’re not finishing plays or, you know, we’re not completing them. And even some of the routine plays. We saw today in the first inning. We can’t make a play there leading off an inning and, before we know it, we’re down two.

“This is something that we gotta get better and we will because we got good defenders there,” Mendoza added.

Rookie Kristian Campbell was not in Boston’s lineup Sunday. After a hot start, Campbell is 4-for-51 with one home run in his last 12 games. He’s played second base and the outfield this season but recently began working out at first base.

“It feels like sometimes he’s in between the breaking ball and the fastball,” Cora said. “Just a kid that went off the first month of the season and people are gonna start making adjustments. So now it’s our time to make the adjustment. And for some people, especially as the young kid, like he’s gonna take longer than others, but I truly believe that the quality of the at-bat is still there.”

–Field Level Media

Fenway’s Bravest

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Servicce Report) – Perhaps a game-winning homer was just what the doctor ordered for the Boston Red Sox? Maybe it was the come-from-behind aspect that could fuel a slip-sliding ballclub?

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After erasing a 6-2 deficit over the final three innings to emerge victorious on a Rafael Devers’ game-winning home run on Saturday night, the Red Sox look to continue the momentum when they play a Sunday afternoon rubber game against the visiting Atlanta Braves.

The recent  American League Player of the Week, Devers’ first career clinching homer capped the Saturday comeback and a personal 3-for-4 effort for a player who started the season in a slump and a funk. Boston’s longtime third baseman-turned-designated hitter has a .411 average in 15 games this month and has reached base in 19 of his last 20 games.

“We all know who (Devers) is. He’s always the same guy,” Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran told Fox postgame. “He could be 0-for-5 or 5-for-5 and he looks the exact same. I think people just need to trust him because we know what he can do.”

Prior to Saturday, Boston had been on a four-game skid and lost eight straight one-run games.

“We needed that one,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “I’m glad we got rewarded (on Saturday) but, hopefully, we can avoid these games and get a lead, add to it. It’s a lot of innings for the bullpen. You pay the price.”

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | May 18

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Storing the Boston TD Garden parquet for the season (Photo by T Peter Lyons)

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – It’s officially baseball season in Boston after the New York Knicks eliminated the Boston Celtics on Friday night in a raucous Madison Square Garden beatdown of epic proportions. Not only were the defending NBA champion Celtics eliminated from the 2025 NBA Playoffs and their attempt to repeat as title holders was dashed, the Cs were embarrassed by a 119-81 final score. The Celtics trailed by 27 points at the half and the Knicks’ lead increased to a point where it was a 41-point debacle for the Bostonians.

While the Knicks’ players won, shook hands and acted as though they’d been there before, Knicks fans did not, as the 19,500 fans with tickets to Game 6 poured out to Seventh Avenue to join the thousands who watched the game in the square blocks surrounding Penn Station and MSG. How could the fans be blamed as they had to count back to 1999 when New York advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals vs Indiana (4-2) and then to the NBA Finals when they were whooped (4-1) by the San Antonio Spurs.

Of course, the Celtics had no fingers to point and no one to blame but themselves. Boston looked sharp in their series-clinching game against Orlando, outscoring the Magic by a 73-40 margin, including a 30-9 run to end the third quarter back on April 29th, seemingly a lifetime ago in these drawn-out but entertaining NBA Playoffs of 2025.

But, Boston’s downfall came in the opening two games of the best-of-seven series against the No. 3 seeded Knickerbockers. On both May 5 and 7th, the Celtics blew 20-point leads to go 0-2 in the Conference semifinal series, and in basic NBA folklore, you can blow one game in a best of seven, but you can’t cough-up two.

That old NBA adage caught up to the Celtics in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden, and the Boston loss vaults us all to summertime and baseball season.

Seasons change and so did I

You need not wonder why

You need not wonder why

There’s no time left for you

No time left for you – The Guess Who, composed by guitarist Randy Bachman and lead singer Burton Cummings

Yes, the seasons change fast in Boston, a town with its fans spoiled by 18 Celtics’ championship banners flying high in the rafters of TD Garden. With the Celtics, it’s either a championship or bust, and bust they did, especially after wingman JaysonTatum went down with a severe ruptured tendon in Game 4 of the Knicks series.

While the current iteration of the Celtics will always have the respect of being NBA Champions (2024), the Cs will also have to live with the fact they blew their chances for more than a single title.

The key games:

2023 Eastern Conference Finals vs. Miami Heat:

  • Game 1 at TD Garden, May 17: Miami 123, Boston 116
  • Game 2 at TD Garden, May 19: Miami 111, Boston 105
  • Game 7 at TD Garden, May 29: Miami 103, Boston 84

2025 Eastern Conference Semifinals vs New York Knicks:

  • Game 1 at TD Garden, May 5: NY Knicks 108, *Boston 105 (OT)
  • Game 2 at TD Garden, May 7: NY Knicks 91, *Boston 90
  • Game 6 at Madison Square Garden, May 16: **NY Knicks 119, Boston 81

* Boston led by 20 points

**Boston trailed by as many as 41 points

Those six games stand out as damn near inexcusable for a championship level team to put forth. In the most recent collapse, Boston went from being a defense-first team to a perimeter shooting, poor shooting fraction of what they could’ve been. The missed shots – many open, good looks – resulted in long rebounds and a transition game that favored New York.

Looking ahead, Boston has its hands tied with large, longterm contracts for its seven or eight rotation players. The Cs’ 2025-26 team salary is estimated at $223,928,825which will be the highest in the league. Big contracts with the dollars guaranteed for ‘25-26 are as follows:

  • Tatum: $54,000,000+
  • Brown: $53,000,000+
  • Holiday: $32,000,000+
  • Porzingis: $30,000,000+
  • White: $28,000,000+
  • Hauser: $10,000,000+
  • Pritchard: $7,000,000+
  • Horford: (Can sign a the NBA veteran minimum) – In 2025, it was $9,500,000

Reports surfaced Saturday that Jaylen Brown finished the season while playing through a partially torn right meniscus. Evaluations have yet to be made and surgery is a possibility.

There is not a lot of give and take with contracts that size and many with multi-year increases. NBA TV money will increase to drastically increase team salary next summer (July 2026). Team GM Brad Stevens will have to stick with the horse than brought him to the 2024 NBA title.

Switching gears, a bit: As Game 6 unfolded in New York, the (22-24) Red Sox were losing their fourth straight game, leaving even the most optimistic Boston fans feeling a bit unsettled heading into the Memorial Day to 4th of July stretch.

Should the Sox continue to falter, the hometown New England Patriots’ prognosis for the 2025 NFL season doesn’t look promising at all. The 0-for-4 in pro franchise forecast might make the Boston faithful seeking refuge in the September 1st TCU at North Carolina football game, also known as former Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s NCAA debut.

The new Boston Red Sox City Connect uniforms (Courtesy MLB)

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: With the Boston Bruins watching the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs from their North End condos, the Celtics sent packing to Cabo San Lucas, the Patriots staring a sub-.500 season ahead for sure, only the Red Sox might find their way to postseason play in 2025.

If they do, the Sox might be wearing new City Connect uniforms inspired by the famed Green Monster of Fenway Park (with a hint of the Pesky Pole yellow).

The new uniforms were unveiled as the Sox took the field against the Braves (loss, so they are 0-1 in the new duds) and will be worn on select home games throughout the season, including May 23. The original Nike City Connect yellow and blue uniforms will remain a core offering for the team, replacing the blue alternate jersey, and will continue to be worn during Patriots’ Day Weekend at Fenway Park.

The new jersey’s feature “Red Sox” in the Green Monster’s signature font across the chest in white, with an encircled “B” logo on the sleeve. Player numbers appear in yellow on the front – a nod to the Fisk and Pesky poles – and in white on the back. Inside the collar, “1912” is stitched onto a concrete, heather pattern, symbolizing the interior structure of the left field wall and the year Fenway Park opened. A replica of the Green Monster’s vintage ball, strike, and out indicator appears as a small graphic detail on the lower left of the jersey.

“The original Nike City Connect uniforms were a bold departure for the team, rooted in the spirit of the (Boston) Marathon, more than the club’s traditional identity,” said Troup Parkinson, Chief Marketing and Partnerships Officer for the Boston Red Sox. “This time, we started with a clear design thesis to create something lasting – drawn directly from Fenway Park itself. Every element has meaning and reflects a place that has defined Red Sox baseball for over a century.”

In doing so, the Sox chose to sway from their signature “BoSox font,” created by well known font author Lee Gordon.

TL’s Take: The new Sox City Connects are nice, and a great idea but I prefer the darker green of the Fenway scoreboard as opposed the lighter green of the ballpark, the dugouts and the Green Monster that is closer to the uniform color. Maybe we can get some paint out and fix ‘em up?

Brown May Need Knee Surgery

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – Four days after Boston’s All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum underwent surgery on a torn right Achilles tendon, ESPN reported that fellow Celtics star Jaylen Brown has a partially torn right meniscus and might also require surgery.

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Per the report, the 28-year-old Brown, who averaged 22.1 points and 7.1 rebounds in 36.5 minutes per game during the playoffs, played the last month of the regular season and the postseason with the injury. Brown will undergo tests this week to determine whether he needs surgery.

Brown had undergone pain injections in his right knee beginning in March, ESPN previously had reported. The four-time All-Star sat out the last three games of the regular season but played in every game in the postseason.

“I don’t make excuses,” he told reporters after Friday’s season-ending road loss to the New York Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. “Obviously, it’s tough the way we went out like tonight, but the way we finished the year, personally, the way I finished the year, persevering through some physical stuff that I was battling through, I’m proud of our group.”

The Celtics lost Tatum late in the Game 4 loss to the Knicks, while Kristaps Porzingis wasn’t at 100 percent this spring due to an undisclosed illness.

Finishing his ninth season, Brown – the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft – appeared in 63 games and averaged 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and a career-high 4.5 assists over 34.3 minutes. For his career, Brown has posted averages of 19.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 30.6 minutes in 603 games (496 starts).

Boston’s Braves

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) -Boston DH Rafael Devers’ leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning capped the Red Sox come back from five runs down to beat the visiting Atlanta Braves 7-6 on Saturday night at Fenway Park.

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After Boston’s Aroldis Chapman (3-2) worked around two baserunners to strike out the side in the top half of the ninth, Devers — who finished 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored — clubbed a 2-1 curveball into the right-center field bullpen off Pierce Johnson (1-1) for his first career game-winning homer.

The third baseman turned designated hitter, Devers finished 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored as the Red Sox won the second of a three-game series.

Boston had scored twice and tallied three hits in both the seventh and eighth innings to whittle down from a 6-2 deficit. Jarren Duran finished with four RBIs, including two on a game-tying single to right with two outs in the eighth.

In the seventh, Ceddanne Rafaela’s leadoff double down the left-field line began a stretch of three Boston hits in four batters to cut its deficit to 6-4. Devers’ opposite-field single and Alex Bregman’s wall-ball double plated runs.

Consecutive one-out hits by Abraham Toro (double) and Carlos Narvaez (single) set up Duran’s game-tying knock an inning later.

Earliers, Atlanta’s Matt Olson and Marcell Ozuna hit back-to-back homers in the first and Drake Baldwin added a two-run shot in the third for a 5-0 advantage for Atlanta, which was held scoreless after the fourth against four relief pitchers.

The Braves wasted little time getting to Boston starter Lucas Giolito as Austin Riley drew a one-out walk and scored on Olson’s two-run homer out to the bullpen in center in the first inning. Ozuna made it back-to-back jacks and a 3-0 Atlanta lead in the next at-bat, depositing a line-drive solo shot to deep left and completely out of the ballpark.

Another one-out walk helped Atlanta extend its lead to 5-0 in the third. After Ozuna drew a free pass, Baldwin hit a towering two-run homer inside Pesky’s Pole in right that was upheld on review.

Braves starter Grant Holmes set aside the first seven Red Sox he faced before a one-out walk to Narvaez in the third. Duran’s two-run homer to straightaway center got Boston on the board two batters later.

The Atlanta starter limited the hosts’ damage to two third-inning runs, inducing an inning-ending fly ball after allowing a Devers double and walking Bregman.

In the fourth, the Braves got a run back on Riley’s two-out single that dropped into shallow left. Eli White hit a leadoff single and stole second to help set up the RBI opportunity and a 6-2 lead.

–Field Level Media

No Repeat, Just Surrender

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – No Boston Celtics team has repeated as NBA champions since the great Bill Russell led the immortal Celtics clubs of 1968-69. On sure thing: the 2024-25 Celtics are not immortal, they proved to be human. Human with flaws. Humans subject to injury and fatigue.

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New York’s incredible guard Jalen Brunson and team mainstay OG Anunoby each scored 23 points as the Knicks reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000 by steamrolling the visiting Boston Celtics 119-81 on Friday in Game 6 of their semifinal series at a raucous Madison Square Garden.

Knicks forward Mikal Bridges had 22 points and All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns added 21 points and 12 rebounds for third-seeded New York, which led by as many as 41 points. The Knicks wrapped up the best-of-seven series with the largest winning playoff margin in the OG franchise history.

In doing so, the Knicks proved they just might be championship material, but the upstart Indiana Pacers stand in their way. The Eastern Conference Finals begin Wednesday in New York.

NY’s Josh Hart contributed 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to record New York’s first postseason triple-double since the legendary Walt Frazier accomplished the feat in 1972. Frazier and his teammate, Bill Bradley, were in attendance  for the Game 6 victory.

Defending NBA champion Boston was led by Jaylen Brown, who had 20 points, six rebounds and six assists before fouling out late in the third quarter. The Celtics were again short-handed after losing star Jayson Tatum to a ruptured right Achilles during Game 4 on Monday.

New York shot 46.2 percent from the field, including 16 of 46 (34.8 percent) from 3-point range. The Knicks held a 55-36 rebounding advantage.

Payton Pritchard scored 11 points and Al Horford added 10 for Boston, which shot 36 percent and was 12 of 41 (29.3 percent) from 3-point range.

The score was tied at 16 before the Knicks began pulling away.

New York led 26-20 at the end of the first quarter and then opened the second with a 16-4 surge to open up an 18-point lead midway through the period.

After Boston’s Luke Kornet interrupted the burst with a three-point play, the Knicks rattled off 16 of the next 21 points to take a 58-32 lead on a putback dunk by Miles “Deuce” McBride with 1:31 left.

McBride buried a 3-pointer as time expired in the half for a 64-37 lead at the break. That marked New York’s largest halftime advantage at the break since leading the Los Angeles Lakers 69-42 in Game 7 of the 1970 Finals, won by the Knicks.

The contest was effectively over when Brown fouled out with 2:50 left in the third quarter and Boston down by 33. Anunoby poured it on with consecutive 3-pointers to end a 10-0 push as the margin went above 40 at 92-51 with 1:51 remaining in the third.

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By that time, Knicks fans were taking over the blocks surrounding Madison Square Garden, rejoicing in the fact it’s been a quarter Century since the Knicks advanced to the NBA ECF or NBA Finals (1999 loss to Spurs). It’s been 52 years since the Knicks won an NBA title and Bradley and Frazier are the only remaining starters from that great Knickerbockers team, as center Willis Reed, forward Dave DeBusschere passed away long ago, and shooting guard Dick Barnett just died this month.

Maybe the ghosts of Madison Square Garden have caught up to the famous ghosts of Boston Garden?

Only time will tell.

–Field Level Media

Sox Slide vs Sale

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Atlanta’s 1B Matt Olson and C Sean Murphy hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning, and Chris Sale’s seven innings of one-run ball made them stand up as the visiting Atlanta Braves defeated the Boston Red Sox 4-2 on Friday night.

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The home runs were part of 2-for-4 nights for both Olson and Murphy in the opener of a three-game series.

Sale (2-3) struck out eight and allowed just five hits and two walks en route to winning his second straight outing against the Red Sox since being traded away in 2023.

Daysbel Hernandez and Raisel Iglesias closed out the game, though the latter allowed a Trevor Story RBI single before recording his eighth save.

Jarren Duran (triple) and Nick Sogard were both 2-for-3, but Boston managed just six total hits and were unable to take advantage of a seven-inning start from Garrett Crochet (4-3). The Red Sox finished 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

The Braves have won four of five, while the Red Sox are on a four-game skid.

Crochet struck out the side on 11 pitches in a dominant first inning, but Atlanta struck for back-to-back solo homers to start the second. Olson and Murphy both went deep over the Green Monster to a near-identical spot in left-center field.

Boston left runners on base in each of the first three innings, including a waste of Jarren Duran’s one-out triple into the right field corner in the third. After Sale struck out Alex Bregman looking, Murphy caught Rafael Devers (walk) attempting to steal second base.

Crochet settled into his outing after allowing the two homers, facing the minimum from the third through sixth innings. In the seventh, the Red Sox southpaw allowed three consecutive one-out singles to Olson, Murphy and Ozzie Albies, but struck out two to escape a bases-loaded jam.

Devers was the first of three Boston men to be retired on the basepaths, as Duran was also caught stealing in the sixth and Sogard ended the seventh getting cut down trying to stretch a single into a double.

The Red Sox did cut into their deficit to start the seventh, though, when Refsnyder lined a leadoff homer into the Green Monster seats in left.

Walks doomed Boston in the top of the ninth, as the bullpen duo of Liam Hendriks and Brennan Bernardino combined to issue five. Two of them forced in key insurance runs to increase the visitors’ lead to 4-1.

–Field Level Media

Celtics: Alive and Well

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – It appears it wasn’t mentioned to the Boston Celtics that they were supposed to go away quietly in the wake of Jayson Tatum’s devastating and season-ending Achilles injury.

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The Celtics were loud and boisterous while facing elimination and won in dominant fashion Wednesday. Now, they have the opportunity to even the Eastern Conference semifinals at three games apiece when they visit the Knicks on Friday night in New York.

Tatum’s serious injury in Game 4 inspired Boston, which delivered a 127-102 home-court rout in Game 5.

The Celtics are 10-2 without Tatum this season, including 2-0 in the playoffs.

“It’s easy to kind of write things off,” Boston co-star Jaylen Brown said. “Obviously, unfortunate what happened to J.T., but we’ve still got basketball to be played. I believe in this group. Don’t count us out just yet.”

The lopsided Game 5 victory transfers the pressure to the Knicks, who need to wrap up the series Friday to avoid a Game 7 in Boston on Monday.

New York star Jalen Brunson could feel the urgency after his club was outscored by 25 points in the second half.

He also made it clear the Knicks didn’t relax due to Tatum’s misfortune.

“No, not at all. Yes, they are missing a big piece, but they are a well-oiled machine that has been in situations where they’ve played without him, and they’ve played well,” Brunson said. “We need to understand that and trust the game plan and play to win. It’s as simple as that.”

Brunson scored 22 points in Game 5 before fouling out with 7:19 left to play. Josh Hart led the team with 24 points and made five of nine 3-point attempts.

But the Knicks shot just 35.8 percent from the field with OG Anunoby (1-for-12, six points) and Mikal Bridges (4-for-14, 9 points) both having poor shooting outings.

“We’ve got to play desperate,” Bridges said. “I don’t think we did that,”

Meanwhile, the Celtics had six players score in double digits. Derrick White knocked down seven 3-pointers while scoring 34 points and Brown had 26 points with 12 assists and eight rebounds.

Kristaps Porzingis didn’t play in the second half due to ongoing issues with a viral illness. He had one point and one rebound in 12 first-half minutes. Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said Porzingis was having trouble breathing.

His departure proved to be a stroke of good luck as journeyman Luke Kornet stepped up in the second half and finished with 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots. The rejections were two shy of the franchise postseason record set by Robert Williams III a the 2021 first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets.

“I feel like it was just trying to make plays,” Kornet said. “Obviously, our season’s on the line, so I’m just trying to have a lot of energy, make plays. I feel like it was everybody. I feel like everybody stepped up and we were very connected and very aggressive and forceful and, obviously, did our job for the day. Now we have to get up and do it again, and it’ll require different things on Friday.”

Regardless of who Boston has on the floor, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau will be studying intently to make the right adjustments.

“They have a lot of shooting on the floor, that’s going to remain the same,” Thibodeau said. “The thing about their team is they are a great defensive team as well. We can’t be slow getting back and you can’t give open shots to them. We have to be closer with our close-outs and be better with our communication.”

Though New York still holds the series lead, Boston carries the momentum as it attempts to win its second straight elimination game.

“We did what was necessary to do and what we needed to do to get it back to New York,” Mazzulla said. “You don’t get to pick the test that you have, you pick how you respond to them.”

–Field Level Media