Luke Kornet was blocking shots and barking at the crowd throughout his epic Game 5 performance on Wednesday night, helping the Boston Celtics stave off elimination against the New York Knicks.

Kornet was a monster off the Boston bench in the team's 127-102 victory, as he put up a truly ridiculous stat line highlighted by seven blocked shots. It wasn't just a block party; Kornet hosted a defensive festival against the Knicks on Wednesday night.

It didn't matter if the Knicks were taking shots in the paint or at the three-point line. Kornet was sending them back and celebrating with his usual barks to the crowd. His teammates were more than happy to join him in the fun.

"Yeah I was barking with him. It's just fun to see him do that," said Derrick White.

While White led all scorers with 34 points and Jaylen Brown was excellent with 26 points and a career-best 12 dimes, Game 5 will likely be remembered as "The Luke Kornet Game."

"He came in and just seemed to always be in the right position. Seven blocks is crazy," said White. "He was unbelievable and stepped up tonight when we needed him."

The seven blocks are a career-high for Kornet in any game -- regular season or postseason -- and are the third-most rejections by a player off the bench in a playoff game. It's tied for the second-most blocks by a Celtics player in a postseason contest, behind only the nine blocked shots by Robert Williams against the Brooklyn Nets in the 2021 playoffs.

Kornet had blocked five shots all postseason heading into Boston's must-win tilt Wednesday night. He blocked five shots in the third quarter alone in Game 5 as the Celtics took over, including a wild sequence that put the Celtics up by 15 points.

It started with Kornet blocking OG Anunoby at the rim and chasing down the ball before it went out of bounds. He was able to save the rock and get it to Sam Hauser to start a Celtics rush, and after some fancy dribbling and lots of ball movement, the ball ended up back in Kornet's hands in the paint. He threw down a thunderous dunk to put Boston on top, 91-76.  

Kornet started the second half for the Celtics and his defense helped turn the game in Boston's favor. After being tied 59-59 at the break, the Celtics held the Knicks to just 17 points off 20 percent shooting in the third. Boston led by 15 heading into the final frame.

Kornet made a lot of plays on both ends of the floor in Game 5, and finished with 10 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting to go along with nine rebounds. He became the first player in NBA postseason history to finish a game with 10 points, nine rebounds, seven blocks, and hit all of his shots off the bench.  

Kornet's emphatic reverse dunk in the fourth quarter off a beautiful feed from Brown put Boston on top 110-85 and nearly blew the roof off TD Garden.

"Luke was huge tonight, defensively and offensively he was stellar," said Brown. "Those are the types of performances we need in the playoffs. Big stops, big finishes. Luke was great tonight."

Kornet's huge night came at the perfect time for the Celtics, who were playing without Jayson Tatum following his Achilles injury in Game 4. Kristaps Porzingis was once again ineffective for Boston with just one point and one rebound over 12 first-half minutes. He didn't play at all in the second half as head coach Joe Mazzulla revealed Porzingis was struggling with a shortness of breath during his time on the floor. Mazzulla said Porzingis would have played in the second half if he was needed.

But Porzingis was not needed as Kornet completely took over. After his incredible performance, Kornet was greeted by celebratory barks from his teammates in the Celtics locker room. 

With Porzingis continuing to struggle with his mysterious illness, there's a good chance Kornet earned himself a start in Boston's must-win Game 6 Friday night in New York. He should have plenty of chances to block more shots and bark at the Madison Square Garden crowd as the Celtics look to force a deciding Game 7 back in Boston.