Isaac Okoro caught the ball right behind the 3-point line, drove past Jaylen Brown, and dashed into the paint where a sliding Luke Kornet met him.
Kornet gathered his feet, jumped straight up, and swatted the shot away with one hand. He tapped the ball back to Brown, who sprinted down the floor for a layup in transition.
Brown’s basket broke a 23-23 tie in the first quarter and ignited a 15-6 run that set the tone for the Celtics’ 120-95 victory over Cleveland in Game 1 of their second-round series at TD Garden Tuesday night.
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Al Horford (7 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists) started at center with Kristaps Porzingis still out with a calf strain. However, Kornet also showed he can hold his own.
Kornet grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out two assists, and recorded a pair of blocks while using his length to alter shots at the rim.
“Al is amazing, he just does so much for us every time he’s out there, but I think Luke came in and kind of changed everything for us,” Derrick White said. “He just brought energy, protected the basket, and rebounded. His minutes were huge, and [Xavier Tillman] came in and gave us really good minutes as well.
“We’ve said all year long that the strength of this team is the team. Guys stay ready, we trust them, and they were big for us.”
Kornet’s 21 minutes were seventh among Celtics players, but he was second behind Jayson Tatum on the rebounding list.
It will take a collective effort to fill in for Porzingis inside, coach Joe Mazzulla said, but the reserves handled the absence well.
The Celtics dominated on the glass, pulling down 55 rebounds while Cleveland had just 38. They blocked seven shots and held the Cavaliers to 42 points in the paint, down from their season average of 50.1.
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“Tremendous. [Kornet], Payton [Pritchard], [Tillman], Sam [Hauser], great minutes by those guys,” Mazzulla said. “Luke started it off. It goes back to moments in the regular season.
“You can’t be a good team unless those guys win you games, and they’ve all played a huge part in winning games whether it’s four in five nights, back-to-backs, it doesn’t matter. They bring it, and it’s important to have guys like that. I thought Luke’s presence was big for us tonight.”
Kornet’s only field goal was one of the loudest of the night — a ferocious two-handed putback dunk over Tristan Thompson.
For the most part, Kornet’s touch around the rim was a little off. He missed his other two field goal attempts.
His passing touch, on the other hand, was on point. He caught the ball off a pick-and-roll and found Tatum slashing backdoor for an open dunk. Jrue Holiday fed Kornet in the paint with a bounce pass, and Kornet had the awareness to turn and whip a pass to Brown at the top of the key for a three.
“He just sees and reads the game,” Brown said. “He’s an intelligent basketball player. He knows the right reads in the right time. When he’s playing well, he’s not thinking, he’s just out there just playing.
“He’s a 7-footer so he can contest shots at the rim. He does a good job of just doing his job day in and day out, and that’s what we need.
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“So Luke has been a great add, he’s been a great benefit this whole year. I’m looking forward to him stepping up and making big plays in the playoffs with Porzingis being down.”
Khari Thompson can be reached at khari.thompson@globe.com.